Patti Catalano Dillon (née Lyons, April 6, 1953) is a former long-distance runner from the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
who is recognized by the
International Association of Athletics Federations
World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...
as having set world bests in the
half marathon
A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcut ...
, 30 kilometers, and 20 kilometers.
[
]
Early life
She grew up in
Quincy, Massachusetts, in the
working-class Houghs Neck neighborhood, the eldest of nine children. Her father was a second-generation Irish immigrant from Dorchester and an all-Navy boxer. Her mother, a
Mi'kmaw
The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the nort ...
woman, had run away from home in Nova Scotia when she was 11 and wound up in Quincy working as a nanny after lying about her age.
Running career
Catalano has held the World Record in the marathon and American road records in the marathon, half marathon, 30 kilometers, 15 kilometers, 10 miles, and 5 mile (now 8 kilometers).
Described as "one of the most dominating American female road runners of the 1970s" and "the queen of U.S. women distance runners", she was inducted into the
National Distance Running Hall of Fame
The National Distance Running Hall of Fame was established on July 11, 1998, to honor those who have contributed to the sport of distance running. Many of those who are inducted have achieved great success as runners, but some members are enshrined ...
in 2006.
Catalano won five of the first six runnings of the
Ocean State Marathon (1976-1979, 1981)
and four consecutive at the
Honolulu Marathon
The Honolulu Marathon (branded JAL Honolulu Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is a marathon (26.2 miles or 42.2km) in Honolulu, Hawaii, first held in 1973. It is one of the world's largest marathons, taking place annually on the second Sunday in ...
(1978-1981).
Included among the many races she has won are the
Montreal International Marathon (1980),
Crim 10 miler (1980, 1981), the
Crescent City Classic 10 km (1980, 1981), and the
Rio de Janeiro Marathon (1985).
Catalano won the Rio de Janeiro Marathon despite getting food poisoning
This was one of her final marathons.
Achievements
Personal life
In 1992, Catalano married the love of her life,
Danny Dillon.
Dillon was a
Big East
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...
champion in the
3,000 meters and a
cross country All-American at
Providence College.
[ ] As of 2003, they live in
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decade ...
, with their two children. Catalano won Best in Show with a French Lop at the Pennsylvania Rabbit Convention.
Notes
References
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External links
Patti Catalano Dillon - Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Catalano, Patti
Living people
1953 births
American female long-distance runners
American female marathon runners
World record setters in athletics (track and field)
21st-century American women