Sister Madonna: Triathlon nun keeps on running
Sebastian Robertson
Issue date: 9/15/06 Section: Religion & Faith
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Even the strongest athletes collapse to the ground upon completion of this race.
Those are the ones who finish. Some are left vomiting on the side of the road or stricken by injury. To become an Ironman you must swim 2.4 miles, quickly switch gears and bike for 112 miles and finish off with a 26.2-mile marathon run. Only the finest athletes of excellent mental and physical condition could even complete a course of this magnitude.
So what does an Ironman look like? How about a 76-year-old Catholic nun?
Spokane resident Sister Madonna Buder has competed in 37 marathons, 300 triathlons and 31 Ironman Triathlons, all after the age of 50. Her journey to that point is quite a story.
Buder was introduced to running at the age of 48. A priest spoke to her praising the power of exercise. He described running as a "panacea with the power to cure depression [and] harmonize the mind, body and soul." Buder, full of inspiration, put on some hand-me-down shorts and went out to find the runner's high.
"I still don't know what the runner's high is, but I have had plenty of runner's lows," Buder said.
She never considered competing until she received news of a family member battling alcoholism. She immediately thought of Christ, who died on the cross so that his grace would be transferred to mankind. At that point Buder decided she would run the 8.2-mile Bloomsday Race held in Spokane so that her "will to overcome would be transferred" to her family member in need. The training was so intense at times she felt that running the race would be physically impossible. At the lowest point in her training she recalls hearing a voice telling her that she must have faith. She accepted this and saw the race as her cross to bear. Buder completed the race, and from then on she was hooked.
The first long-distance race she competed in was the Boston Marathon. This time she ran for multiple sclerosis, raising nearly $4,000 for the cause. After completing the Boston Marathon she set her sights on the Troika Half-Ironman Triathlon outside of Spokane. This would be her first of 300 triathlons, which are ranked in intensity by their length, the ultimate one being the Ironman Triathlon.
Those are the ones who finish. Some are left vomiting on the side of the road or stricken by injury. To become an Ironman you must swim 2.4 miles, quickly switch gears and bike for 112 miles and finish off with a 26.2-mile marathon run. Only the finest athletes of excellent mental and physical condition could even complete a course of this magnitude.
So what does an Ironman look like? How about a 76-year-old Catholic nun?
Spokane resident Sister Madonna Buder has competed in 37 marathons, 300 triathlons and 31 Ironman Triathlons, all after the age of 50. Her journey to that point is quite a story.
Buder was introduced to running at the age of 48. A priest spoke to her praising the power of exercise. He described running as a "panacea with the power to cure depression [and] harmonize the mind, body and soul." Buder, full of inspiration, put on some hand-me-down shorts and went out to find the runner's high.
"I still don't know what the runner's high is, but I have had plenty of runner's lows," Buder said.
She never considered competing until she received news of a family member battling alcoholism. She immediately thought of Christ, who died on the cross so that his grace would be transferred to mankind. At that point Buder decided she would run the 8.2-mile Bloomsday Race held in Spokane so that her "will to overcome would be transferred" to her family member in need. The training was so intense at times she felt that running the race would be physically impossible. At the lowest point in her training she recalls hearing a voice telling her that she must have faith. She accepted this and saw the race as her cross to bear. Buder completed the race, and from then on she was hooked.
The first long-distance race she competed in was the Boston Marathon. This time she ran for multiple sclerosis, raising nearly $4,000 for the cause. After completing the Boston Marathon she set her sights on the Troika Half-Ironman Triathlon outside of Spokane. This would be her first of 300 triathlons, which are ranked in intensity by their length, the ultimate one being the Ironman Triathlon.