MPTC’s Dean of the West Bend Campus, Pete Rettler, began running daily after making a bet with a friend on New Year’s Eve in 1993. The bet was to run every day for that year. 27 years later, he hasn’t missed a single day – and averages about 2.5 miles each run. 

A few years back, he started using this daily running streak to generate community involvement and giving by hosting a New Year’s Eve 5k run event. The money raised was donated a local non-profit.

At year 25, Pete held a 25 day event, selecting a different non-profit each day- and gathering over $25,000 in donations. 

This year, he has had to do things differently- as we all have- and is hosting a virtual 5k- where participants will select their own route. While this doesn’t have the togetherness of his typical events, this does open up the opportunity for participation anywhere.

This year, his donations will be given to the Wisconsin Remembers 9-11 Memorial in Kewaskum to assist their efforts to bring awareness, and honor and remember local victims.  https://www.wisconsin911memorial.com/about.html

As an added heartfelt, Pete’s children (now adults) have never known a day that their Dad didn’t run. When they were little Pete would push them in the stroller on his daily runs. This year, Pete will be carrying on that tradition while pushing his granddaughter Reagan in the stroller on his run. 

Through it all, Pete remains a humble- community centered man- grateful for his health and the ability to utilize what was once a silly bet- as a way to bring good to his community.  

Do you want to run “with” Pete on New Years Eve? Registration is $27 and there will also be 27 prizes. Information can be found at rettlerrun.com.

*Photo courtesy of Washington County Insider-2018.

As a Transition Specialist at Moraine Park Technical College, I often help GED/HSED students transition into programs, making sure students are connected with outside community resources they may require, and assisting students in navigating the many amazing resources MTPC has to offer. I encourage potential students to take the leap to being a college student, and the enormity of that decision is not lost on me.

At times we all need to be encouraged to leap into uncharted territory. It helps us to grow as humans–to gain insight about ourselves and the world, and helps us realize our untapped potential. A student’s leap into college has some similarities to my own personal journey to becoming a relay runner for the nonprofit MS Run the US.  It’s a longer story, but here’s hoping you find it interesting and relevant….

When my good friend Amy Van Dyke asked me if I’d be interested in running six consecutive marathons while sipping Starbucks in early June of 2014, I flat out told her no. It wasn’t physically possible for me, I was sure of it.

She wasn’t convinced, and kept telling me that she could see my potential. She had run many miles for the nonprofit MS Run the US, once running across the entire state of Colorado–13 consecutive marathons. It was inconceivable to me, but I had run many of her longer training miles with her, so she thought I could do it–with training. Over months, her persistence and belief won me over, and I very reluctantly agreed. I had never run a marathon before, and I was pretty injured with a SI joint sprain that was constantly aggravated because I didn’t take the necessary time to rest. Continue reading

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