Chad Holderbaum is heavily into physical fitness these days, primarily because he's not heavy anymore.

Holderbaum, 27, of Irwin, plans a trip to Hawaii in mid-October, a trip that will in some ways celebrate his overall physical fitness, not to mention test his endurance. Holderbaum is not heading off to an island vacation. Instead, he will compete in the Ironman World Triathlon championship in Kona-Kailua, Hawaii, Oct. 13.

Penn-Trafford graduate Chad Holderbaum lost 60 pounds en route to qualifying for the Iron Man triathlon world championships this fall in Hawaii Click photo for larger image.

It's a little bit of a surprising trip, given that as little as five years ago, Holderbaum was feeling overweight and out of shape as he wound up his studies at Robert Morris University.

"I was always a runner in track and cross country in high school," said Holderbaum, a 1998 graduate of Penn-Trafford. "But when I went to college I sort of got away from it. By the time I was 21 or 22, I had put on, like, 55 or 60 pounds."

A family reunion picnic put him back on to a path that has led to competing in triathlons. His cousin, Tom Mal, an active runner, pulled Holderbaum aside and asked him to start running again in events such as local 5- and 10-Ks and the City of Pittsburgh's Great Race.

"I don't have the fast-twitch muscles like sprinters do," Holderbaum said. "I started to run in those events and found that the longer I ran, the better I did."

He dropped the weight, cutting from a peak of 205 pounds down to his current weight of 145. He stuck with the training and distance running, eventually competing in marathons. Triathlons were the next logical step.

He qualified for the Kona event by placing 58th among 2,200-plus competitors in a triathlon at Lake Placid, N.Y., on July 22. Holderbaum finished sixth in the 25-29 age group in that event securing what will be his first trip to Hawaii.

"I always said the only way I could go to Hawaii was to compete," said Holderbaum, who works full-time as an engineer with Westinghouse and trains for the triathlon during his off-work hours. "I'm really looking forward to it. I think it's going to be a great opportunity."

It will be taxing, if nothing else. The Kona event consists of a 2.4-mile swim in the Pacific Ocean followed by a 112-mile bike race and ending with a marathon, a run of 26.2 miles. Holderbaum covered the Lake Placid event in 10 hours, 17 minutes, a personal-best performance. He is hoping to complete the Kona course in less than 10 hours.

That will mean extensive training. Holderbaum said his regular routine is to work from about 7 a.m. to 3:30 or 4 p.m. and then follow with some form of workout. He'll swim two or three days per week, usually at the Wilmerding YMCA, runs on the average four days per week and rides his bike three days a week. He estimates that he spends about 20 hours each week training for the triathlon.

"Typically I'll work until about 3:30 or 4, then head over to the 'Y' to swim," he said. "After that, I get something light to eat and then go out and either ride the bike for about three hours or run for about an hour and a half. It keeps me pretty busy."

On weekends, in addition to more swimming, he'll take a four-to-six-hour bike ride on Saturdays and a long run -- usually of about two to three hours -- on Sundays.

One of his goals is to spread the message of fitness awareness. Holderbaum said his brother, Rob, is among many who have gotten the message. Rob has dropped about 50 pounds in workouts and has his weight down to around 200 pounds.

"There is a history of people being overweight in my family," Holderbaum said. "Part of the reason I am doing this is to let people know how important it is to be physically fit.

"I really love the triathlons and I love to compete, but there is a message here about physical fitness, too."

Holderbaum says triathlons are extremely challenging, but the challenge of pushing his body beyond the normal limits of human endurance is part of what he enjoys.

"It's tough to do," he said. "In this last one [at Lake Placid] I rally started to cramp up about 18 miles into the run. You get to a point where your body just doesn't want to do it any more. You have to be mentally prepared to push your body past what it seems like human limitations should be. That's the part of the challenge that I really like.

"The other thing is the people. I like the competition and trying to be the best I can, but we have great people in this [triathlon] community. We really support each other and that [support] is a big part of what I enjoy about this."