Marion Irvine

ByMike Tymn

March 2, 2010

In 1993, when she was 63, Sister Marion Irvine entered a half marathon expecting to finish reasonably close to 1:30. "When I ended up running 1:59:53 or somewhere around there, I knew I didn't have it anymore and it was time to get out," the 80-year-old retired Dominican nun explains by phone from her San Anselmo, Calif., residence.
Because of stenosis, a degenerative condition of the spinal discs, Irvine is unable to run even for exercise these days. "But I walk and hike whenever I have the opportunity," she adds.
It was on Memorial Day 1978 that Irvine started running. "I recognized that I had a lot of pent-up energy that wasn't being expended," she said in a 1980 interview. "I tried swimming, but that didn't work. Then a niece suggested that I try jogging. At first, I thought it was a crazy idea, but then I invested in some tennis shoes and shorts and started out by walking stretches in the sun and running in the shade. I found that I felt better almost immediately and I've run just about every day since."
Initially, Irvine was a big curiosity around the convent, where she was the supervisor in charge of 17 elementary and secondary Dominican schools in California. Not only was it unusual for a nun to run, but heads really turned when she went out to run in the rain.
Irvine peaked at age 54 with a 2:51:01 at the 1983 Cal International Marathon in Sacramento, qualifying her for the Olympic trials in 1984, where she recorded a 2:52:02. "Those two races would have to be my most memorable experiences," she says. "Those two and every time I broke 40 minutes at 10K."
Her best 10K was 37:43. At one time, she just about owned the record books for women 50 and over. She still has four times among the all-time leaders, including her Olympic trials marathon (98.6 percent), a 40:37 10K (97.9 percent) at age 61, and a 19:53 5K (97.6 percent) also at 61. (The 2:51 was not eligible for record consideration as it was on a point-to-point course.)
"I don't regret a day of it," she says about her running career. "I met many nice people and overall it was a very wonderful and broadening experience."
When not "slumming" on her computer, Irvine is now active in lobbying for social justice reforms, especially in legislation for abolishing the death penalty.