She grew up in Quincy, Massachusetts, in the working-classHoughs 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.[3]
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).[2][4] 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][5][6]
^The International Association of Athletics Federations credits Catalano's 20 kilometers performance as "Patty Lyons", her maiden name. Various sources report that she also held a world record in the 5 mile; however, the IAAF currently does not recognize a world record or world best at that distance.[1]
^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."[7]
^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.[13] 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.[1][14]