Home run for Fisher: Dixonite knows nutrition, loves Reagan Run

Deciding where to go for July Fourth festivities was a no-brainer for Rebecca Fisher.

She came home.

The 2003 graduate of Dixon High School hopped a plane from New Orleans earlier this week to catch the fun of the Petunia Festival and compete in the Reagan Run on Saturday morning.

“There really isn’t that much going on in New Orleans during this time of the year,” Fisher said. “They have Mardi Gras as their big thing, but nothing like this over the Fourth. Even if they did, I try to make it back for every Reagan Run.

“That’s just something I want to keep doing every year. I want to say I’ve ran the last five years and not say I skipped this year or that.”

Fisher laced up her shoes for her first Reagan Run before her sophomore year of college at Millikin University. It was her first step on a path to gaining a deeper interest in nutrition and health, and one that ultimately led her to set the goal of becoming a registered dietitian.

It was also her first real experience with long distance running, but not her last.

She kept running on her own and returned the next year for the Reagan Run.

“That first year, a friend and I did it and I think our only goal was to run the whole way,” Fisher said.

“I think we accomplished that. It wasn’t until I got into some of the competitive running in cross country that I started thinking about time.”

Before her senior year at Millikin, her friend Michelle King – a Sterling grad, no less – convinced Fisher to join the cross country team.

“I was so nervous for every one of those races,” Fisher said. “But I had so much fun, I wished I had done it for more of my years. The training also was hard, but really rewarding once you put yourself into it.”

Fisher graduated from Millikin in 2007 with a degrees in biology and Spanish.

After that, she really turned her attention to nutrition and health, although the amount of running she did went down.

“When you’re in Dixon, you can pretty much be safe running at any time of the day,” Fisher said. “In New Orleans, that’s not always the case. It makes it harder to keep training.”

Fisher enrolled at Tulane University in New Orleans in the fall of 2007. This spring she received her master’s degree in Public Health in Nutrition. She is continuing at Tulane to become a Registered Dietician.

“I just want to be able to take what I’ve learned and help people understand how diet and exercise work together for a healthy life,” Fisher said. “The important thing is to find ways to enjoy the process of getting healthy.”

Fisher has no plans to compete for Saturday’s title. The race has taken on more of a social aspect for her.

“I am doing it with an old friend,” Fisher said. “We’ll run a little of it and walk a little of it. It’s really the whole experience and being around all the people that makes it such a fun thing to be a part of.”

Fisher file

Hometown: Dixon

Parents: Chuck and Carol Fisher

Age: 24

Education: Graduated from Dixon in 2003. ... Received bachelor’s degrees in biology and Spanish in 2007 from Millikin University in Decatur. ... Received master’s degree in public health in nutrition in 2009 from Tulane University in New Orleans. ... Currently completing coursework to become registered dietitian.

FYI: Played one year of softball and was a two-year cheerleader at Dixon. ... Ran cross country for one year at Millikin. ... Has run in Reagan Run the last 5 years.



Reagan Run

Distance: 5K

When: 8 a.m., Saturday

Where: Race begins at Reagan Home and finished on Highland Avenue in front of Post Office.