On July 6, 2004, one month after his high school graduation, a dump truck smashed into Brian's black Camaro, crushing his pelvis, ribs, and clavicle, pushing his heart to the right side of his chest, and causing both lungs to collapse. He lost 60 percent of his blood, endured 14 surgeries and 36 blood transfusions, and spent two months in a coma during which time he lost 100 pounds. When he awoke, the former body-builder and state-champion swimmer from Welcome, Maryland, barely had the strength to blink his eyes—his sole form of communication. Talking, the doctors said, might take months. Walking, they warned, might take a miracle.

But underneath the tangle of life-support machines, Brian was still the kid who'd never settle for less than an A, the one who wouldn't quit a game of one-on-one basketball until he triumphed or wore down his opponent trying. He lunged for every challenge—first to lift his index finger, then to lift himself out of a wheelchair, then, in the fall of 2005, just one year after the accident, to start his freshman year at St. Mary's College of Maryland, and swim with the team.

In July 2007, he made the most astonishing leap of all, signing up for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii, a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, and 26.2-mile run, held in October. Race organizers invited him to participate, provided he could get permission from his doctors and finish an Ironman 70.3 event (1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike ride, 13.1- mile run), which was three weeks away.

Though doctors cleared Brian to do the race, a triathlon seemed absurd, if not dangerous to his friends and family members. But he was driven to try, compelled by a desire to get as far as possible from the accident. "I was haunted by the idea that I was this sick, limited person, and I thought that if I could finish an Ironman, I could prove that I was finally healed," he says. "I knew how high the odds were that I'd fail, but that was nothing new." On October 13, 2007, Brian crossed the finish line in Kona in 14:42

Brian wants to return to Kona, this time as a qualifier, which would require placing in his age group in another Ironman. Since he considers running his weakest link (he ran Hawaii's marathon leg in 5:40), he became set last year on breaking four hours in the marathon.

Brian has completed in many marathons and triathlons since Kona and continues to strive for his personal best. In his own words (below), he expresses his determination to never give up.

“The 2010 Eagleman 70.3 event in Cambridge, Maryland was labeled ‘one of the most competitive and grueling 70.3 events ever’. It was the first 70.3 triathlon I’ve competed in since the 2008 Foster Grant Ironman70.3 World Championship and the field was packed with nearly 50 world class pros from around the globe. I’ve been training very hard this year and I have earned age group podium finishes in all my 2010 events (both triathlon and running). This past weekend I was preparing to set a personal best at Eagleman and I’m very pleased to say that this goal was reached when I crossed the finish line with a seven minute PB. However, what makes this event even more personally rewarding for me is that I competed in the race with a pretty severe head cold that almost kept me from finishing the swim. I knew it was going to be difficult competing while being sick, but I had worked so hard this season – there was no way I could miss out on this incredible race.

After swimming for almost 40 minutes through some pretty rough currents, I only had 200 yards more to go and I completely stopped, treaded water for a minute and quickly searched for the nearest rescue kayak. I was in panic mode because I couldn’t breathe, heart rate was very high, legs were fully cramped, and I was incredibly dizzy and nauseous to the point where my arms and hands were becoming numb. I had never experienced this before in a race, but have often heard horror stories from triathletes who have.

After seeking out the attention from the kayakers, they were rapidly making their way towards me when I realized that there was no way I was going to drop out of this race – visions of being in the coma, hospital, and recovery flashed through my mind as well as the thought of all the support I have been given from family, friends and the remarkable people who played a helping hand in my journey back to life. I was going to make it to land even if I had to doggy paddle to the shore.

As soon as my foot struck the sand, I quickly tried to get my bearings straight, while shaking loose the severe cramps in my legs. Being one of the last guys in my age group out of the water, I shuffled through the transition area, found my bike and sprinted out of there as fast as I could. I hopped on the bike and took off, averaging a total of 24.3 MPH throughout the bike segment in some pretty severe headwinds along with a 101 heat index. I knew I had to make up a lot of time to catch up to the leaders of my age group, and after two hours and 18 minutes on the bike, I was amazed to find out that I was the first guy in my group back into the transition area with the fastest bike split of the day in my age group, which was an all time first for my triathlon career.

I soon discovered some trouble in the run because I couldn’t hold my hydration and nutrition down, but I was very happy to still earn a podium finish under these brutal conditions. The fact that I was able to finish at all was the most important thing to me…but I have to admit that it was pretty incredible to come in first off the bike with a split that was faster than some of the male pros.

Looking back at 2007 when I began competing in triathlons, I honestly didn’t know to much about riding road or triathlon bikes. Aero bars and bike pedals were a very new thing for me. It took some bumps and bruises to find out how to ride properly, but the hard work has been well worth it and the quest for Kona is just getting started.”