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Sam O'Neill and cousin Dan Simmons passed away from cancer in April 2023 and June 2024, respectively. Sam and Dan were avid runners and close friends. 

Sam ran her personal best marathon time (sub 3:55) in her tenth marathon: December 4, 2021 at the California International Marathon. Sam was thrilled to be working with the Canada Running Series to help promote her passion for running with friends. Four months after the CIM, Sam was diagnosed with cervical cancer and 12 months later, on April 4, 2023 she passed away.

At Dan's celebration of life, all those present tried to do what Dan would want - remember him for his unquenchable thirst for life, relentless energy and enthusiasm.

One of Dan's friends said, "it was an overwhelming experience meeting Dan for the first time, not only because of his ability to fill up a room to bursting point, but also his fundamental openness. Dan was himself at all times, and his very first instinct was to find a way to be your friend, to understand you and learn from you. Genuinely no one I've known looked for the best in others and wanted the best for them more than Dan, and for that among countless other reasons, all of us will miss him deeply."

Sam was fiercely independent, but in her time of need, she allowed herself to lean on a few close friends and family to help her navigate the chaos and struggle caused by cancer. Sam also looked to creative writing to express herself and try to deal with cancer. During this time Sam wrote:

Stay Gold

she said, “incurable”

I heard, “unloveable”

I heard, “you’ll never be loved again“

because who could ever love the broken

I am a piece of work, and I’ve heard that no one wants to work these days

but Kintsukurio - the Japanese art of mending broken pottery by filling in the cracks with gold - would have you

think otherwise

would have you fill my cracks with gold

would have you admire the glimmer of hope, the shimmer of resilience that has replaced my imperfections

the more broken, the more beautiful, more broken, the more loved,

it turns out because the more I break, the more you fill me with gold and as I become emblazoned with the sparkle

of a million galaxies floating through space my body is overtaken

I have become the reflection of your love, and I hope this is just the beginning

I hope I will forever stay gold

- sam o’neill