Bill Rodgers Puts His House Up for Sale

Marathoner Bill Rodgers is in debt and has put his home in Dover, Mass., up for sale, the Boston Globe reported.

Seven years ago, Rodgers, the New York City Marathon champion from 1976 to 1979 and four-time Boston Marathon winner, signed as guarantor of a loan with the Bank of Boston for a company that manufactures running apparel with his name on it, Rodgers & Co.

Rodgers & Co. prospered in the early 1980s, but competitors entered the market and sales fell from $7 million in 1985 to $3.5 million last year.

Although the debt was reduced from $3.5 million two years ago to $1.3 million this past March, the bank decided in April to try to recover its debt by seizing the company’s assets and selling them.

“The bank came in and put locks on the door and sold the stuff real cheap,” Rodgers told the Globe. “It was a tent sale. . . . They were selling things at 10 cents on the dollar.”

Rodgers would not disclose the remaining amount of the debt, saying it is substantial, but less than $1 million.

“Things will work out,” he said. “Once the house is sold, we’ll get a place to rent where we can live. Then I can get my mind back on running.”