Patti Catalano

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 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.howtobefit.com/patti-catalano.htm|title=Patti Catalano - Running For Her Life}}

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).{{cite web

|title = USA Record Progressions- Road

|url = https://www.arrs.run/RecProg/RP_USAR.htm

|work = Association of Road Racing Statisticians

|accessdate = May 25, 2010

}} 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 in 2006.{{cite book |last1=Benyo |first1=Richard |author-link1=Richard Benyo |last2=Henderson |first2=Joe |author-link2=Joe Henderson |title=Running Encyclopedia: The Ultimate Source for Today's Runner |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kqc1SkRr9UwC |year=2002 |publisher=Human Kinetics |location=Champaign, Illinois |isbn=9780736037341 |page=58 |chapter=C: Cabrera, Delfo to Curp, Mark |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kqc1SkRr9UwC&pg=PA58 }}{{cite news |title=Seko Clocks A Boston Record |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bM8nAAAAIBAJ&pg=2802%2C4107090 |agency=AP |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |location=Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |date=April 21, 1981 |page=19|accessdate=January 13, 2011 }}

Catalano won five of the first six runnings of the Ocean State Marathon (1976-1979, 1981){{cite web

|title = Ocean State Marathon

|url = https://www.arrs.run/HP_OcSMa.htm

|work = Association of Road Racing Statisticians

|accessdate = May 25, 2010

}}{{#tag:ref|According to the Association of Road Racing Statisticians, Catalano posted a 2:33:31 in the 1981 race but "ran in a special division due to questions regarding her amateur status. Mary Hynes was the official winner of the women's division in 2:52:12."|group="nb"}} and four consecutive at the Honolulu Marathon (1978-1981).{{cite web

|title = Honolulu Marathon

|url = https://www.arrs.run/HP_HonMa.htm

|work = Association of Road Racing Statisticians

|accessdate = May 25, 2010

}} 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).{{cite web

|title = Montreal International Marathon

|url = https://www.arrs.run/HP_MonMa.htm

|work = Association of Road Racing Statisticians

|accessdate = May 24, 2010

}}{{cite web

|title = Crim Road Race 10 mile

|url = https://www.arrs.run/HP_Crm10.htm

|work = Association of Road Racing Statisticians

|accessdate = May 24, 2010

}}{{cite web

|title = Crescent City Classic 10 km

|url = https://www.arrs.run/HP_CrC10.htm

|work = Association of Road Racing Statisticians

|accessdate = May 25, 2010

}}{{cite web

|title = Rio de Janeiro Marathon

|url = https://www.arrs.run/HP_RioMa.htm

|work = Association of Road Racing Statisticians

|accessdate = May 25, 2010

}}{{#tag:ref|Unlike the International Association of Athletics Federations, the Association of Road Racing Statisticians recognizes Catalano as having set a world best in the marathon with her 2:30:57.1 performance at the Montreal International Marathon on September 6, 1980.{{cite web

|title = World Best Progressions- Road

|url = https://www.arrs.run/RecProg/RP_wwR.htm

|work = Association of Road Racing Statisticians

|accessdate = May 25, 2010

}} The IAAF progression includes two earlier marks from Grete Waitz, including a 2:27:33 performance at the 1979 New York City Marathon, which were set on a course that in 1981 was reported to be short.{{cite web

|title = New York City Marathon

|url = https://www.arrs.run/HP_NYCMa.htm

|work = Association of Road Racing Statisticians

|accessdate = May 25, 2010

}}|group="nb"}}

Catalano won the Rio de Janeiro Marathon despite getting food poisoning. [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/a-runners-life/id1504303593?i=1000491162610 This was one of her final marathons.]

In 1992, Catalano married the love of her life, Danny Dillon.{{Citation

| last = Preer

| first = Robert

| title = Running For Her Life

| newspaper = The Boston Globe (Boston.com)

| date = November 30, 2003

| url = http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2003/11/30/running_for_her_life/

| accessdate = May 25, 2010}} Dillon was a Big East champion in the 3,000 meters and a cross country All-American at Providence College.{{cite web |url=http://www.friars.com/sports/m-track/spec-rel/081999aab.html |title=Providence College Friars Official Athletic Site - Men's Track |website=www.friars.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000204222804/http://www.friars.com/sports/m-track/spec-rel/081999aab.html |archive-date=2000-02-04}} As of 2003, they live in New London, Connecticut, with their two children. Catalano won Best in Show with a French Lop at the Pennsylvania Rabbit Convention.{{cite web

|title = Introducing Patti

|url = http://www.pattidillon.com/page3.html

|work = (Website of) Patti Catalano Dillon

|accessdate = May 25, 2010

}}

;General

• {{Citation

| last = Jennes

| first = Gail

| title = In the Long Run, Patti Catalano Aims to Be the Best in the World

| newspaper = People

| date = April 20, 1981

| url = http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20079078,00.html

| accessdate = May 25, 2010}}

• {{Citation

| last = Pileggi

| first = Sarah

| title = No.1 Is No.2...and Closing

| newspaper = Sports Illustrated

| date = October 27, 1980

| url = http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1123898/1/index.htm

| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20121102022724/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1123898/1/index.htm

| archive-date =2012-11-02

| url-status = dead

| accessdate = May 25, 2010}}

• {{Citation

| last = Scherman

| first = Tony

| title = Marathoner Patti Catalano: Off and Running Again

| newspaper = Family Weekly

| pages = 10, 13

| date = April 10, 1983

| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=iscoAAAAIBAJ&pg=2347%2C3055375

| accessdate = May 25, 2010 }}

• {{Citation

| last = Steutermann Rogers

| first = Kim

| title = Dancing Through Life - Patti Dillon Today: Looking Forward, Looking Back

| newspaper = Running Times Magazine

| date = October 2003

| url = http://runningtimes.com/Print.aspx?articleID=4563

| accessdate = May 25, 2010}}

• {{Citation

| last = Catalano (Lyons LaTorra)

| first = Patti

| title = Runner profile

| newspaper = Association of Road Racing Statisticians

| date = December 2016

| url = https://more.arrs.run/runner/7401

| accessdate = December 20, 2016}}

;Specific

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.pattidillon.com/ Patti Catalano Dillon - Official website]

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{{succession box|before={{flagicon|USA}} Ellison Goodall|title=Women's Half marathon World record holder|years=29 September 1979 – 29 March 1980|after={{flagicon|NED}} Marja Wokke}}

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{{1999 National Distance Running Hall of Fame inductees}}

{{Footer Honolulu Marathon Champions Women}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catalano, Patti}}

Category:Living people

Category:1953 births

Category:American female long-distance runners

Category:American female marathon runners

Category:World record setters in athletics (track and field)

Category:21st-century American women

Category:20th-century American sportswomen