Positive Aging-The “Iron Nun”

I was happy to see Nike’s latest commercial for its Unlimited campaign featuring the triathlete dubbed the Iron Nun. According to an article in the Huffington Post, “Buder said that she manages to fit her training for these races in with her daily life. The sister, who is part of a nontraditional religious order called the Sisters for Christian Community, runs to her church in Spokane, Washington. She also runs to the local jail, where she volunteers to chat with inmates.”  I suspect the narration for the commercial is intended as amusing since it relies on aging stereotypes, but the Sister’s accomplishments blow those stereotypes out of the water.  Ad of the Day: Nike Celebrates the ‘Iron Nun’, an 86-Year-Old Triathlete With God on Her Side features the ad, as well as the behind the scenes interview with the sister without the narration. The quote I liked from Sister Buder:   “the only failure is not to try”.  Huffington Post quotes from an article on her in Cosmo, “Don’t pay attention to how old you are, only focus on how old you feel … And be patient — one of my worst enemies is patience, I’m still trying to fine-tune it so that I’m able to stop and smell the roses.”

Kudos Sister for your accomplishments!