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Dixon’s Dean Geiger has been running the Reagan Run 5K since he was five years old.
After finishing as runner-up last year, the Dixon senior came through with his first win at the annual Fourth of July race which begins at Ronald Reagan’s boyhood home. There were reportedly over 1,600 runners at this year’s race.
Geiger finished with a time of 15 minutes, 32.22 seconds as the overall winner by nearly 20 seconds.
Dixon's Dean Geiger crosses the finish line as the overall winner of this morning's Reagan Run 5K pic.twitter.com/iS1vJcb0WU
— Drake Lansman (@Drake_Lansman) July 4, 2026
Fellow Dixon runners Keegan Shirley (15:51.8), Averick Wiseman (15:59.0) and Aaron Conderman (16:00.6) followed not far behind. Sterling grad Sam Janssen (16:37.5) took fifth.
On the women’s side, Peoria native Brenna Detra (18:44.4) and Rock Falls’ Ariel Hernandez (18:46.6) were the top two female finishers.
Geiger came through to win the 3.1-mile race after it was delayed 90 minutes due to rain. It was the first year the race course went over the new pedestrian bridge over the Rock River.
“My goal was to win,” Geiger said. “This was my 12th one, so I figured I might as well get it eventually before I go to college.”
Geiger led Dixon with a 14th-place finish during the Dukes’ Class 2A state cross country title last year. He started off slow to feel things out on the new course in Saturday’s race.
“About a mile-and-a-half in, one of the guys made a hard move, and I covered it,” he said, “and made a hard move back and then I kind of gapped it from there.”
Geiger plans to run in the NAMI Sauk Area 5K next Saturday in Sterling.
It was satisfying for Geiger and the other Dixon runners to finish at the top.
“Me and the cross country team here have big goals this season,” he said. “We’ve been training hard and figured we might as well show it off right now in front of all these people.”
Shirley, who recently graduated, is continuing his running career at Colorado Christian University, a Division II program in Lakewood, Colo.
“Running for Dixon has been a really special experience, because we have a team that you just don’t find,” he said. “It’s kind of like a once in a lifetime thing to be on this team.
“They still have a very strong team coming into this year and the next couple. We hope to take home a few more trophies upcoming, too.”
Detra is a 2013 Peoria Richwoods grad and track & field standout who ran at the University of Wisconsin. She’s ran professionally and resides in Chicago while she continues to train. She competed in two Olympic trials and ran a 1:59.94 in the 800.
She took 28th overall while Hernandez was 29th.
Her cousin, Maggie Love, resides in Dixon and suggested she run the race. Detra’s Reagan Run debut was a successful one.
“If I’m going to race, I’m going to take it serious and win,” she said. “I was aiming for 19 minutes, and anything under was a bonus.”
She and Hernandez went back and forth down the stretch before Detra pulled away.
“I’m very competitive, so I was like, I cannot run that whole thing and then lose at the last second,” she said. “So I just found another gear.
“I actually ripped my shoe, but I’m like, it’s worth it for the win.”
Peoria native Brenna Detra and Rock Falls' Ariel Hernandez finish as the top two women in this morning's Reagan Run 5K pic.twitter.com/Z8hGNxBy4j
— Drake Lansman (@Drake_Lansman) July 4, 2026
Detra said she’s also enjoyed attending Petunia Festival over the holiday weekend.
“I love the idea, the festival, all of the food, the people,” she said. “It’s my third year coming.”
Hernandez was also runner-up in last year’s race. She is headed into her second year of running at Northern Illinois University and treated the race as a tempo workout.
“My freshman year went pretty good,” she said. “I knocked out a lot of my high school times and I had a pretty good breakout year.”
Rounding out the Top 5 female finishers were Oregon’s Kollins Anaya (37th, 19:14.5), Plainfield’s Mary Kate Moran (47th, 19:49.4) and Dixon’s Hannah Steinmeyer (49th, 19:55.4).
Complete results can be found at ReaganRun.com.
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Over 1,600 people take off down Hennepin Avenue in Dixon on Saturday, July 4, 2026, during the 2026 Reagan Run. (Alex T. Paschal)
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After finishing as runner-up last year, the Dixon senior came through with his first win at the annual Fourth of July race which begins at Ronald Reagan’s boyhood home. There were reportedly over 1,600 runners at this year’s race.
Geiger finished with a time of 15 minutes, 32.22 seconds as the overall winner by nearly 20 seconds.
Dixon's Dean Geiger crosses the finish line as the overall winner of this morning's Reagan Run 5K pic.twitter.com/iS1vJcb0WU
— Drake Lansman (@Drake_Lansman) July 4, 2026
Fellow Dixon runners Keegan Shirley (15:51.8), Averick Wiseman (15:59.0) and Aaron Conderman (16:00.6) followed not far behind. Sterling grad Sam Janssen (16:37.5) took fifth.
On the women’s side, Peoria native Brenna Detra (18:44.4) and Rock Falls’ Ariel Hernandez (18:46.6) were the top two female finishers.
Geiger came through to win the 3.1-mile race after it was delayed 90 minutes due to rain. It was the first year the race course went over the new pedestrian bridge over the Rock River.
“My goal was to win,” Geiger said. “This was my 12th one, so I figured I might as well get it eventually before I go to college.”
Geiger led Dixon with a 14th-place finish during the Dukes’ Class 2A state cross country title last year. He started off slow to feel things out on the new course in Saturday’s race.
“About a mile-and-a-half in, one of the guys made a hard move, and I covered it,” he said, “and made a hard move back and then I kind of gapped it from there.”
Geiger plans to run in the NAMI Sauk Area 5K next Saturday in Sterling.
It was satisfying for Geiger and the other Dixon runners to finish at the top.
“Me and the cross country team here have big goals this season,” he said. “We’ve been training hard and figured we might as well show it off right now in front of all these people.”
Shirley, who recently graduated, is continuing his running career at Colorado Christian University, a Division II program in Lakewood, Colo.
“Running for Dixon has been a really special experience, because we have a team that you just don’t find,” he said. “It’s kind of like a once in a lifetime thing to be on this team.
“They still have a very strong team coming into this year and the next couple. We hope to take home a few more trophies upcoming, too.”
Detra is a 2013 Peoria Richwoods grad and track & field standout who ran at the University of Wisconsin. She’s ran professionally and resides in Chicago while she continues to train. She competed in two Olympic trials and ran a 1:59.94 in the 800.
She took 28th overall while Hernandez was 29th.
Her cousin, Maggie Love, resides in Dixon and suggested she run the race. Detra’s Reagan Run debut was a successful one.
“If I’m going to race, I’m going to take it serious and win,” she said. “I was aiming for 19 minutes, and anything under was a bonus.”
She and Hernandez went back and forth down the stretch before Detra pulled away.
“I’m very competitive, so I was like, I cannot run that whole thing and then lose at the last second,” she said. “So I just found another gear.
“I actually ripped my shoe, but I’m like, it’s worth it for the win.”
Peoria native Brenna Detra and Rock Falls' Ariel Hernandez finish as the top two women in this morning's Reagan Run 5K pic.twitter.com/Z8hGNxBy4j
— Drake Lansman (@Drake_Lansman) July 4, 2026
Detra said she’s also enjoyed attending Petunia Festival over the holiday weekend.
“I love the idea, the festival, all of the food, the people,” she said. “It’s my third year coming.”
Hernandez was also runner-up in last year’s race. She is headed into her second year of running at Northern Illinois University and treated the race as a tempo workout.
“My freshman year went pretty good,” she said. “I knocked out a lot of my high school times and I had a pretty good breakout year.”
Rounding out the Top 5 female finishers were Oregon’s Kollins Anaya (37th, 19:14.5), Plainfield’s Mary Kate Moran (47th, 19:49.4) and Dixon’s Hannah Steinmeyer (49th, 19:55.4).
Complete results can be found at ReaganRun.com.
Expand Autoplay
Image 1 of 21
Over 1,600 people take off down Hennepin Avenue in Dixon on Saturday, July 4, 2026, during the 2026 Reagan Run. (Alex T. Paschal)
Continue reading...
