19 Facts About Marion Irvine

Marion Irvine was born on October 19,1929 and is an American nun and former marathon runner.

Marion Irvine broke numerous age-group records in distance running events during her career, and has been inducted into multiple running halls of fame.

At St Rose Academy, she became interested in becoming a nun; in 2007, Marion Irvine said that she "fell in love with the life" at St Rose.

Under the name Sister Bonaventure, Marion Irvine became a nun in the Dominican Order.

Marion Irvine spent more than 20 years as a teacher and school administrator in California, and worked for the Dominican Sisters in the role of supervisor of the organization's schools for six years.

Marion Irvine did so on the recommendation of a niece, who was concerned about Irvine's condition physically.

Marion Irvine's first race at a longer distance was a 15-kilometer run at a park; she posted the second-fastest time among the women who took part.

Marion Irvine then started to regularly take part in marathons, at the rate of four per year.

Marion Irvine was the first woman in her age group to run for under 20 minutes in the 5-kilometer run, 38 minutes in the 10-km, and 3:00 in the marathon.

In 1983, Marion Irvine competed in the California International Marathon, held in Sacramento, California.

At the time, Marion Irvine was the oldest competitor ever in a US track and field Olympic Trials; by the time of the Trials, she was 54 years old.

Marion Irvine made appearances on the television programs Good Morning America, The Phil Donahue Show, and Today, and received profiles from major American magazines.

Marion Irvine continued her running career and gained a sponsorship from Nike, Inc With her travel costs covered by Nike, she entered marathons in Europe as well as the US, and occasionally took part in track events.

In one event held in Europe, the 1985 World Veterans Games in Rome, Italy, Marion Irvine earned four medals: one gold and three silver.

Marion Irvine ran in a half marathon, but her time of 1:59.53 was approximately half an hour slower than she anticipated.

Marion Irvine spent the years after the end of her running career campaigning for social issues, and credited her attendance at the 1999 World Trade Organization protests as the driving factor behind her involvement.

Marion Irvine has been a critic of the death penalty, globalization, and the Iraq War.

Marion Irvine gained induction into the Road Runners Club of America Hall of Fame in 1994.

Marion Irvine is featured in the 1987 Oscar-nominated documentary film, Silver into Gold.