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Inspiration
THOUGHTS•PEOPLE•STORIES•PLACES
BY JACK MCNEEL
One doesn’t normally think of a Catholic
nun in terms of running marathons and
Ironman competitions. Sister Madonna Buder
is not only an exemption to those thoughts
but may well be the best at her age to ever
compete in the Ironman. Now at 88, she still
travels around the country to compete in
triathlons; thus the reason for her nickname,
“The Iron Nun.”
Her story is remarkable. She grew up in
St. Louis and entered the Good Shepherd
Convent there when she was 23. Running
certainly wasn’t on her mind. It was during a
conference on the Oregon coast that a priest
introduced her to running.
He expounded on the benefits of running,
how it “harmonizes mind, body and soul.”
Her immediate thought was, “I thought
you were supposed to give a prayer,” laughing
as she remembered that event.
That same evening, she went out and
ran for about five minutes. The priest met
her at the door and said she needed to do
that for at least five weeks before she felt
the runner’s high.
That was the start, and it wasn’t long
before she was introduced to triathlons.
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The Iron Nun
“It just started catapulting from there. I
probably was a natural,” she added. Judging
by her running career in the years, since that
was a major understatement.
She returned to her home in Spokane and
saw a notice about the Second Bloomsday
Race, but initially rejected the idea of
taking part.
Bloomsday is 7.46 miles long, and she’d
only been running short distances.
But some personal motivation caused her
to change her mind.
“That was the worst thing I’ve ever put
my body through,” she said. “Once it was
done, I was falling apart, every part of my
body was discombobulated. I didn’t even
know you were supposed to have a pair of
running shoes.”
She found some shoes but had no time
to break them in and had blisters to con-
tend with.
“I got through the race,” she said. “There
were almost 300 women in my age group,
and I ended up being like fourth.”
She said she never wanted to put her
body through all that agony again, and the
only solution was to keep going, essentially Sister Madonna Buder. PHOTO BY JACKIE MCNEEL.
staying in shape. “Then I got burned out. At that point I was
She continually entered running events, introduced to triathlons. Since then it’s been
and some seasons did at least 20. the way for me to go. It’s not the constant
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