Last year, while in training, a prairie dog collided with her bike, leaving her with broken bones and a punctured lung. This she also treats nonchalantly, claiming that the Eilat event was an occasion for her to test if she was back in shape. A need to share her own experiences led her to establish a club training women in triathlons. She now has 200 members who enroll in a year-long program for which they pay a minimal fee, just to cover expenses. Among the course participants are cancer survivors and Callahan has adopted a special method for them.
Cancer is a metaphor for an obstacle.
I teach these women that sport helps you push back confining barriers. It teaches you to put up with hardship and to do things you thought impossible. Men grow up with more support and a belief in themselves than women. I'm going to be 60 in a couple of years - I can't keep this up. I hope I have enough sense never to do an Ironman again.