Posts Tagged ‘Ironman’

Run Against Cancer

Posted: October 2, 2012 in General Posts
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For those of you who don’t know, I’m running a half Ironman in a little less than a month. And I’m not just doing it for me, I’m also trying to raise money for the organization Infinity and Beyond. This organization was started by my friend whose father was battling cancer. He found that there were many underserved areas of cancer research that could really benefit from somewhat smaller fundraising efforts (as compared to organizations like Livestrong). My friend did his first fundraiser by raising money to bike across the country, now it’s my turn to help out.

 My grandmother fought and beat breast cancer, but my grandfather was not so lucky. He passed away just a few months ago after prostate cancer visited and revisited his life. Nearly everyone has been affected in some way by this terrible disease. That’s why I’ve decided to dedicate my 70.3 miles to all of those people. You never know if that one dollar you donated helped to fund research that eradicates or greatly reduces cancer. If you have an extra dollar or two, please consider giving to the cause! You can find my donation page here. I really appreciate any help you can give me to reach my goal!

My Inspiration for the Week: The Iron Nun

Posted: May 29, 2012 in General Posts, Pictures
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In the course of talking to my mom about changing body shapes as we grow older, I mentioned how great of shape I’ve noticed the older female triathletes to be in. My mom then tried to tell me that men do really well in their old age in such sporting events because they have more muscle mass and testosterone, but women don’t do so well. I, of course, took to google and found a stellar counter example: Madonna Buder, also known as the Iron-Nun.

Though this nickname may initially sound strange and even comical, you will realize shortly that it is the absolute embodiment of awesomeness. This woman, born in 1930, is now 82 years old and completed her last Ironman under 17 hours at the age of 81 years old. At the age of 76, she became the oldest woman to complete the Hawaii Ironman, also under 17 hours. Overall, she has finished 325 triathlons, 45 of which were Ironman distance races. Can you imagine the dedication that it has taken for this woman who just started training at age 48 and completed her first Ironman 7 years later?

So for anyone out there who thinks they are too young, too old, too big, too skinny, too out of shape, this is the end of the line. No more excuses. Get out there and find something to compete in, something to train for, some goal to reach. In the words of Ms. Buder herself, “Well, you know, as long as God is giving you your health, there’s no reason to stop”.

Here’s some more pictures of this amazing woman:

In short, the Iron Nun gives a whole new meaning to the phrase when she says, “I train religiously”.

If she can do it, why can’t you?

Articles/References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madonna_Buder

http://news.softpedia.com/news/78-Year-Old-Iron-Nun-Races-Triathlons-112882.shtml

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=7671970&page=1#.T8J6nY6lDao