If you’re still giving yourself excuses not to exercise, or still contemplating your first triathlon, think of Sister Buder who has already completed 45 triathlons at age 82!
IRON NUN
And if you’re still thinking about your first full distance in Ironman, Sister Buder has earned the title of ‘Iron Nun’ for completing her first IRONMAN at the world Championships in Kona, Hawaii. You better not still be thinking. At 82, she has been recorded as the oldest woman to ever complete an IRONMAN triathlon.
When Sister Madonna Buder needed a little extra oomph to complete her first IRONMAN® World Championship triathlon in Hawaii, she channeled into the divine.
“I thought of the finish line as the entrance to the final finish line, into the Pearly Gates. That’s what drew me to [it],” said Sister Buder.
We often portray Sisters or Nuns in long, white or grey robes, with a grim face and strict personalities but Sister Buder doesn’t look like any of that. Incidentally, it was a fellow priest who put the spring in her step and introduced her to running.
Forgot your running shoes? Just Borrow One.
Sister Buder will have you putting your best foot forward in triathlon, and if you’re not careful, she might actually beat you!
She once finished an Olympic distance triathlon – 1.5km swim, 40km cycle and 10km run, in borrowed shoes as she left her shoes behind, in a very respectable 4:23:43 seconds.
Most beginners, weekend warriors and middle-aged triathletes average the same time as this octogenarian. Yet, she didn’t let one simple mistake distract her from the finish line.
At the IRONMAN Kona in Hawaii, touted as one of the toughest triathlons in the world with a distance of 3.9km swim, 180km cycle and 42km run, Sister Buder also broke the record for best finishing time (16 hours and 32 minutes) for the 80 to 84 age group — an achievement that still stands.
Along the way she’s had some setbacks — missing a race finish by a matter of seconds, multiple broken bones, wetsuit issues — but, she proclaims,
“The only failure is not to try, because your effort in itself is a success.”
“You carry your attitude with you. You either achieve or you self-destruct. If you think positively, you can even turn a negative into a positive,” Sister Buder elaborates.
Sister Buder was featured in Nike’s “Unlimited Youth” film below in the company’s recent series, hailing both the everyday athletes and the champion athletes who regularly push their limits.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEf7MoQYgzE
Source: Nike and Today.com
