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.^[6]

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).^[2][7] 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.^[2][8][9]

She unsuccessfully attempted to qualify for the 1984 Olympics.^[10]

Catalano won five of the first six runnings of the Ocean State Marathon (1976–1979, 1981)^{[11][nb 2]} and four consecutive at the Honolulu Marathon (1978–1981).^[12] 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).^{[13][14][15][16][nb 3]}

Catalano won the Rio de Janeiro Marathon despite getting food poisoning. This was one of her final marathons.

Catalano is Mi’kmaw through her mother and reconnected to her heritage later in life. Toward the end of her running career, she struggled with injuries and bulimia. She divorced her coach, Joe Catalano. Several years later, following her third divorce and loss of her job, she struggled with homelessness.^[5][10]

In 1992, Catalano married Dan Dillon.^[19] Dillon was a Big East champion in the 3,000 meters and a cross country All-American at Providence College.^[20] 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.^[21]