Sister Madonna Buder has two passions - religion and sports. She realized her first passion when she became a nun in her early twenties. It took her a couple of more decades to realize her second passion, but once she got going there has been no stopping her!

And we are not talking some lightweight water aerobics, but hardcore triathlons of the worst kind - the Ironman Triathlons, a series of long-distance races that culminate in the prestigious, invite only, Ironman World Championships in Hawaii, famous for its grueling length and harsh weather conditions.

Not impressed? How about if we told you that the Iron Nun, who has completed over 300 triathlons, started competing when she was 52 years old and just turned 80 on July 24th, 2010.

The most amazing part is, thanks to her vocation, the harsh winter weather conditions in the Pacific Northwest, and other commitments, she doesn't train very regularly - sometimes skipping for as long as four months. Instead, she seems to use the triathlons she competes in, as part of her 'training' - often improving her speed times as the year goes by.

Sister Madonna is such a pioneer that triathlon organizers keep having to add new age categories to accommodate her. When she turned 75, they had to add a category for 75-79 year-old competitors. Now that she is 80, they have extended it out even further.

And the Iron Nun is not about to let them down - While she took some time off to celebrate her big birthday with 75 of her closest friends, she is currently training for Ironman Canada that takes place in British Columbia, later this month, where she hopes to break her own record, set in 2005.

Like any hard-core athlete, Sister Madonna has suffered her share of injuries, ranging from a broken elbow to a cracked middle toe - But she and her fans both know she will never stop trying, because, 'There is no such thing as failure as long as one tries. The only failure is not to try.”

A great piece of advice to remember the next time you are trying to shun a challenge, because you are too afraid to fail!

sources: tonic.com, explorernews.com