Dianna Fisher

Much of my early adult life was spent in the Army - Cold War - behind the Berlin Wall.  After the Army, I came here to Oregon to go camping with a friend and never left. I love Oregon, I love the rain, I love everything about this place. I worked for 18 years at Oregon State University and now I am enjoying life. I am back in school and I am working on a PhD that I should have finished before the end of the summer.

I've learned a lot about myself over the years, and decided that now it's time to do things that I want to do. I've spent the last three years taking vacations in Africa (drove across Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe with my partner, went back to Africa again and then to Madagascar, traveled to several countries in South America and now we are planning our next adventure. I don't want to be the one sitting in the rocking chair wishing I had done something!

Why a century? This was the same sort of question that people used to ask about. Why do you want to run a marathon, a 50k etc.  I think it's a good goal. I know that I can ride half that distance, so bettering my distance by half would be a goal that I could work toward. It's concrete.

I am a disabled veteran. I try not to let that define me or dictate my limitations, but sometimes the doubt works against me. I've been a runner and I loved running but major surgery last year to repair my meniscus that I tore off at the root meant a wheelchair, several months of non-weight bearing, a thigh to ankle immobilization brace, a lot of PT and all of that followed by  almost a year recovery. I am cleared for activity now, but feel that it will take forever to get me back to where I was!