Noteworthy: Rethage, a Marine Corps veteran, was scheduled to compete on Sunday in the Ironman Challenge in Lake Placid, N.Y., a 140.6-mile triathlon in which competitors swim 2.4 miles, bike for 112 miles, and follow that with a full 26.2-mile running marathon. As part of the challenge, Rethage rounded up per-mile pledges for donations to charities including St. Jude Children's Hospital, the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children and the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
Age: 53
Residence: Murrysville
Family: Fiance, Jay
Education: Graduating from South Side High School in Pittsburgh before joining the Marine Corps, he returned to Western Pennsylvania to start a roofing business in the mid-1980s.
Occupation: Owner of Bill Rethage Roofing in Murrysville, although he said his business has been on hold — along with most of his life — as he trained for the Ironman Challenge.
Background: In 2011, Rethage got a call from his brother John of Ohio, also a Marine Corps veteran, inviting him to compete with him in a super-sprint triathlon — a 300-meter swim, 8-mile bike ride and 1.5-mile run. Rethage said he enjoyed it so much that when he came home and watched a few hours of the Ironman Challenge World Championships on television, he decided he would do that as well.
Quote: “As far as preparing for this, it has to be a lifestyle. You have to change the way you eat, the way you sleep, the way you deal with distractions. There's a lot of things that have been put by the wayside. I'm doing things now that I couldn't do when I was 30, so I'm not going there to suffer. I'm going there to have fun.”
