Deborah Callahan (4th Season)
Deborah Callahan is in her fourth season as head coach for the MSU Northern’s Cross Country and Track program. Raised south of Havre, she graduated from Havre High School and earned a degree from Northern Montana College (now MSU Northern) before she launched a distinguished banking career that spanned 43 years, before retiring in 2024.
While at MSU Northern, she has worked to rebuild the running program. This year's team includes 12 dedicated athletes. Last season, the Lights Cross country team finished 7th out of 11 teams at the Frontier Conference meet in Billings. For the first time in MSU Northern’s history we are now participating in Indoor Track. What a learning curve for everyone and long drive to Brookings, SD for Frontier Conference. At that meet, one woman placed seventh in the 5K, while other athletes set personal-best times. At the Frontier Conference Outdoor Track Championships in Dickinson, ND, one man placed eighth in the 10K, and other athletes achieved personal-best times and set school records.
Several runners from the 2025–26 team earned Academic All-Conference and Champion of Character honors, Fall and Spring NAIA Scholar-Athlete recognition, and placement on the Dean’s List while competing in cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track
Family is a priority for her; she and her spouse have a blended family of four children and six grandchildren. Motivated by her children’s cross-country pursuits, she became a runner herself and has finished 27 half marathons in pursuit of her goal to run one in each state.
“My passion for running drives me to mentor and inspire our team. Unity and teamwork are essential to success. By cultivating collaboration, perseverance, mental toughness, and a shared love of running, we can strengthen Northern’s Cross Country and Distance Track programs. My goal is to help us move forward, applying lessons from the past as we build our future together.”
