Nike features 86-year-old nun in Unlimited Youth film

By

Cassidy Mantor

Published
Aug 15, 2016

40-time Ironman veteran Sister Madonna Buder is the star of Nike's newest Unlimited film campaign. She is 86.

When Sister Buder competed in her first Ironman race back in 1985 at the age of 65, she said “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].”

She became the oldest Ironman finisher at age 82 and continues to compete.

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Known as the "Iron Nun," she has competed in 40 full length Ironman races since 1985. Ironman races are comprised of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and a full 26.2 mile marathon.

Sister Buder got into running when she attended a workshop on the Oregon Coast led by a priest who advocated running as a way to harmonize the mind, body and soul.

She attributes her physical endurance to listening to her body and maintaining a positive mindset.

“You carry your attitude with you,” Sister Buder says. “You either achieve or you self-destruct. If you think positively, you can even turn a negative into a positive.”

Her spot in Nike's Unlimited Youth film is designed to send a message to younger athletes.

In Sister Buder's words, “One step at a time makes a marathon.”