On the cross country course or in the classroom, Brian Callahan was the ideal student athlete, focused on becoming the best he could be. And he encouraged his teammates to follow his lead.

Callahan ran cross country for Suffolk University from 1980-82 and he was captain of the team his last two years. He consistently was one of the top finishers during each race throughout his three seasons.

His biggest attribute was the ability to lead other young men and women. A good example of his motivational ways came after one of the Rams early meets that first season, the Babson College Invitational, when the blue and gold finished dead last. Callahan was upset when no one shook hands with the Suffolk runners.

Under his direction, the local tracksters then put on their finest “Rocky” impersonation and implemented their own off-season conditioning program – winter, spring and summer. It included speed work, swimming, and running along some of the steepest streets on Beacon Hill.

Suffolk was invited back to the Babson tournament the following season, and just as Callahan had predicted, the Rams defeated the host team, as well as a few other universities. This time the opposing runners came over to shake hands with members of the Suffolk squad.

“The lesson we all learned was that if you really work hard at something, you’re going to get good results,” says Callahan, who has run 14 marathons, four of which were the Boston Marathon. “And that’s what sports are all about – working together and giving everything you’ve got.”

In 2005, Callahan’s youngest daughter, Grace, was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes. He responded by creating www.byebyediabetes.org to raise money for diabetes research. In 2009, he received the Massachusetts General Hospital “Stand & Applause” award for his fundraising efforts.

Callahan is a trial lawyer with Callahan & Associates in Charlestown. In 1985, he received his J.D. from Suffolk University Law School, where he met his future wife, Ann Marie Irwin. They now live in Medford with their four daughters.

Watch Brian Callahan's Induction Video Here