{"id":147989,"date":"2017-05-12T08:15:36","date_gmt":"2017-05-12T08:15:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=147989"},"modified":"2017-05-12T08:15:36","modified_gmt":"2017-05-12T08:15:36","slug":"iron-nun-just-wont-conform-conventional-ideas-age","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2017\/05\/12\/iron-nun-just-wont-conform-conventional-ideas-age\/","title":{"rendered":"The Iron Nun Who Just Won\u2019t Conform to the Conventional Ideas of Age"},"content":{"rendered":"

By definition, anyone who\u2019s entered spiritual service has experienced a spiritual awakening \u2013 but then again, Sister Madonna isn\u2019t your average nun. Anyone who\u2019s seriously competed in a triathlon has trained religiously \u2013 but then again, Sister Madonna isn\u2019t your average triathlete.<\/strong>
\n<\/p>\n

The Holy Trinity<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Born Marie Dorothy Buder, Sister Madonna felt the calling to become a nun at the age of 23, devoting her life to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It wasn\u2019t until later in life that she began to see life from a bicycle.<\/p>\n

\n
\"kung-fu-nuns-cycling-for-gender-equality\"\/<\/a><\/div>
\n Road cycling<\/a>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n

Kung Fu Nuns Cycling for Gender Equality<\/span><\/h3>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/article>\n<\/div>\n

At the age of 48, a Catholic priest called Father John encouraged her to explore her \u201cmind, body, and spirit\u201d through the holy trinity that is the triathlon. Competing by biking, running, and swimming certainly seems to have resonated with Sister Madonna \u2013 at age 87 she\u2019s still training.<\/p>\n

Unlikely Pin-up<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Nike chose to feature Sister Madonna in an advert because, to them, she’s an athlete who refuses to conform to the conventional ideas of age. It\u2019s certainly unusual to compete in your first triathlon at the age of 52, which she did in 1982 in Ireland.<\/p>\n<\/lite-youtube>\n

It\u2019s not all been plain sailing \u2013 in 2011 at the age of 81 Sister Madonna competed in the Canadian Ironman competition but missed the bike cut-off by 2 minutes. \u201cThe only failure is not to try\u201d, and with 40 Ironman competitions under her belt, you could say Sister Madonna\u2019s efforts have formed a bit of a habit.<\/p>\n

Repent and repeat<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In an act of persistence, with perhaps a little penance, Sister Madonna got back on her bike and at the age of 82 she broke the Ironman record for the 80-84-year-old age group \u2013 a record that still stands.<\/p>\n

\n
\"leonardo-da-vinci-invent-bicycle\"\/<\/a><\/div>
\n Socialising and Culture<\/a>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n

Did Leonardo da Vinci Invent the Bicycle?<\/span><\/h3>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/article>\n<\/div>\n

Sister Madonna\u2019s aim is humble, to challenge herself and compete, for her own spiritual journey. Along the way, she notes, \u201cI have opened up age groups in my life that never existed\u201d.<\/p>\n

A funny kind of Saint<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The efforts of Sister Madonna haven\u2019t gone unnoticed by the athletic community, and she came as close to being sainted in her lifetime as she\u2019s likely to get \u2013 in 2014 Sister Madonna Buder was inducted in the USA Triathlon Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sister Madonna said her mission was, \u201cto change the world that you are in, give to the world what you have, and serve the world with who you are\u201d. It\u2019s safe to say, the Iron Nun on a bike did all that, and then some.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By definition, anyone who\u2019s entered spiritual service has experienced a spiritual awakening \u2013 but then again, Sister Madonna isn\u2019t your […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":147994,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[332],"tags":[1077,1076],"global-categories":[],"class_list":["post-147989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-and-training","tag-marie-dorothy-buder","tag-sister-madonna"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Iron Nun Who Just Won\u2019t Conform to the Conventional Ideas of Age - \u0160koda We Love Cycling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By definition, anyone who\u2019s entered spiritual service has experienced a spiritual awakening \u2013 but then again, Sister Madonna isn\u2019t your average nun.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2017\/05\/12\/iron-nun-just-wont-conform-conventional-ideas-age\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Iron Nun Who Just Won\u2019t Conform to the Conventional Ideas of Age\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By definition, anyone who\u2019s entered spiritual service has experienced a spiritual awakening \u2013 but then again, Sister Madonna isn\u2019t your average nun.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2017\/05\/12\/iron-nun-just-wont-conform-conventional-ideas-age\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u0160koda We Love Cycling\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-05-12T08:15:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2017\/05\/48447.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Monica Buck\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2017\/05\/12\/iron-nun-just-wont-conform-conventional-ideas-age\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2017\/05\/12\/iron-nun-just-wont-conform-conventional-ideas-age\/\",\"name\":\"The Iron Nun Who Just Won\u2019t Conform to the Conventional Ideas of Age - 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