In the end what stands out, for me, is the glint in Cliff’s eyes. Put him in a competition, and he had the degree of fierceness one might expect of anyone who can break a four-minute mile. But spend time talking with Cliff, and you could not help but be taken by the sparkle that flashed from the center of his eyes. The light that searched for mirth and mischief. It was as if he could not help from showing you that while serious matters exist, much of what we live is a lark.

I had the privilege of being in Cliff’s matriculating college class, and of following (well behind) in his footsteps on the trails and the track. I had the luck of seeing him one more time during our 25^th reunion. I try to focus on these things, and not the void.

Eric Barron

I knew Cliff from med school. Since I went to Princeton and he to Harvard, there was an immediate friendship which always revolved around mutual harassment about our undergraduate educations. His wit was usually a bit too quick for me, so even when I though I had the best jab, the smile that he had on his face always said that he knew differently!

He was an incredibly friendly, confident and competent doctor-in-training. His wit was legendary in our class. This is not the forum for details, but suffice it to say that Cliff is credited with one of the funniest questions ever asked of a very stuffy lecturer by a medical student in a lecture hall filled with 200 tense and very bored medical students. Even the lecturer was seen to crack a smile during the raucaus laughter that followed Cliff's very seriously and sincerely asked question. That was one of his gifts that I will remember-- his sense of humor. I haven't seen Cliff since our 10 year med school reunion 9 years ago, but I still feel a huge loss.

My thoughts and deepest condolences go out to his wife and children.

Evan Tobin, MD Columbus, OH

I am still just taking this in. Thank you to George and to all of you for your moving posts. Although I was not able to make it to Missoula, I have been thinking about Cliff during my runs this week. I have not met them, but Cliff’s wife and children are also very much in my thoughts.

Honoring Cliff

This morning, Paul O'Leary, Stephen Ezeji-Okoye, John Perkins, and I found a track in Missoula. Even though we all were a bit short on endurance, top-end speed, and acceleration, we all were thinking about Cliff's great accomplishments on the track. I remembered Cliff's amazing 1500 meter win at the Outdoor Greater Boston Championships freshman year. Cliff smoked Troy Billings of BU in the last 200 meters to run 3:46.0.

The day I met Cliff

This grainy newspaper picture shows Cliff leading the 1500m at the 1981 NJ State High School All-Group Championships with me two runners back. As usual, Cliff won and that day I came in second. We had never raced before because our schools were different sizes and after the race we met for the first time. Little did I know then that we would go to the same university, become teammates, training partners, occasional housemates, homework partners, climbing partners (after our track days), groomsmen and, most importantly, friends. I will miss him. Rest in peace Cliff. Your friend, John “Perks” Perkins.

Article about Cliff in Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2011/08/02/clifford_sheehan_harvard_track_star_turned_medical_pioneer/

All times heps Records

Cliff Has records for 1500 and the mile.

Harvard Record Board Indoor Track

Cliff's Harvard Records

See all the amazing times Cliff ran that still stand today:

http://www.gocrimson.com/sports/track/history/TFMW_Record_Book_Home

Obituary from the Missoula Paper

The obituary from the Missoula paper is found below:

http://missoulian.com/news/local/obituaries/article_a91a9130-bb8c-11e0-b046-001cc4c03286.html

I have were so many funny and impressive memories of Cliff. Running a kick butt mile on a treadmill in England. So many victories kicking home on the last turn. But for some reason this one sticks with me and makes me smile. This modified Gary Larson cartoon that hung on the Dillon locker room bulletin board for quite some time.

RIP Cliff and Ed. Gone too soon.

More from Crane's Beach

Thanks Denis for the great picture from Crane's Beach. It was a special time for all of us, filled with great and odd memories--I'm sure that Cliff would have remembered my father's 1968 Plymouth station wagon that I used for this trip. Here are a couple of pictures from one of our trip's to Crane's. Pictured with Cliff are: Bill Pate (first picture), and John Duffy, Bill Pate, John Perkins, and Kate Wiley (second picture).

I'd like enjoy more reunions like this one from 2006

Posting to the blog

UPDATE: I have emailed invitations to contribute. You should get an email with a subject line: "You have been invited to contribute to Remembering Cliff Sheehan". To post, you will have to log in through your Google account.

Send me an email me at wu@chicagobooth.edu if you did not receive an invitation and would like to post.

You can also email me at wu@chicagobooth.edu anything you would like me to post.

Note: This was written by Bill Hyland (Cliff's college roommate)

Pictured: June, 1985: Cliff Sheehan, Bill Hyland, Steve Ezeji-Okoye, George Wu, Benny Thio

Greetings, always with a firm handshake and a great big smile,
Powered by a sharp mind and strong heart to a sub-4 minute mile.
“The roommate with the big blue eyes?” my 1989 bridesmaids’ swooned?
His name is Cliff Sheehan, Irish like me, but suddenly gone much too soon.
Just yesterday so happy reuniting at our 25th, we reminisced at Fenway in style!
Understanding it all now, will take a while…

Some memories from Denis Elton Cochran-Fikes

Note: This was written by Denis Elton Cochran-Fikes, one of Cliff's track coaches at Harvard.

This is a photo I display at my home. It is one of my most treasured possessions, so many memories.

Pictured left to right: George Wu, Andy Gerken, Jim MacDonald, Sean McGrath, John Duffy, Paul Gompers and Cliff Sheehan

The last time I saw Cliff was in May 2005. (He looked much like he does in this photo, which I found on www.saintpatrick.org.) The occasion was his induction into the Harvard Hall of Fame, an event I would not miss. Joining Cliff for the event were his parents and his wife, Eileen. Fellow Harvard Hall of Famer, Stephen Ezeji-Okoye, and teammates Bill Barton and Rob Henderson were also on hand to honor Cliff.

Cliff was very much the same “uniquely Cliff.” He proudly reintroduced to his parents and to Eileen. There was no way that I needed to be reintroduced to Mr. and Mrs. Sheehan. I remember them with such fondness. Their love and support for Cliff was infectious. As for Eileen, Cliff was beaming, he was so happy to have her at his side.

As the introductions of the honorees were about to begin, Cliff came over to my table and calmly told me that I had to do his introduction, and then returned to his seat. I was in shock as Bill and Rob can attest. Some how I got through the introduction, I hope Cliff was pleased.

I love and respect him, and I will never forget him.

Outdoor Heptagonals 1500

The picture on the right is of Cliff winning the 1985 Outdoor Heptagonal 1500 meters held on our home track in Allston. Cliff's winning time was 3:50.82. The picture is courtesy of John Perkins, who is on Cliff's right. John finished third in the race.