Renee Seman, who ran marathons despite breast cancer diagnosis, dies at 42

Renee Seman never ran a marathon until she was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in 2014. She then completed six of the world’s most prestigious marathons, pushing herself in April 2019 through intense pain and exhaustion past the finish line of the final one, in London.

Seman, of Long Beach, told Newsday in May that when doctors told her she had cancer, she was determined to continue pursuing her goals.

“If I live my life dictated by the cancer, then I’m not really living,” she said then.

Seman died Jan. 29 from complications of the disease. She was 42.

She grew up in Levittown, said her husband, David Seman, 48. She graduated from York College in Pennsylvania in 2000 and received her law degree from Hofstra University in 2003.

Seman worked in Kings County criminal courts for 13 years as a public defender, who represents those too poor to afford an attorney, even though she could have earned much more money in the for-profit sector, said Becca Miller, a lawyer who worked with Seman at Brooklyn Defender Services and a close friend.

Seman was dedicated “to fight for people that the world is against,” said Miller, 36, of Mineola. “She gave her heart and her soul to this job and she always treated our clients with respect.”

Before working in Brooklyn, Seman was with the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County for three years.

After Seman finished the 2015 New York City Marathon, someone told her about the Abbott World Marathon Majors, six marathons that many serious runners aspire to complete. Finishing the remaining five — Chicago, Boston, Berlin, Tokyo and London — became her goal.

“She wanted to live life to its fullest,” David Seman said. “She wanted to push the limits. She knew time was limited and didn’t want to set barriers for herself.”

In September, the Greater New York City affiliate of Dallas-based Susan G. Komen, a breast cancer research and advocacy group, bestowed its Eliza Adams Thriver of the Year award on Seman.

The award is “for perseverance, but also seeing there is joy to be found in life even when facing metastatic breast cancer,” said affiliate CEO Linda Tantawi.

“Renee could have taken her grief and she could have felt sorry for herself and could have gone home and said, ‘I’m sick and I’m not going to do anything,’ ” she said. “But instead she said, ‘I’m going to do something I love, which is running, and I’m going to do something that almost no one does in their lives, which is run these six marathons.’ And she was running these marathons both with her disease and in spite of her disease.”

Even in her last weeks, when most days she was unable to walk, she remained positive, David Seman said.

“She kept the same disposition right to the end, her smile,” he said. “Even in the very end she was very optimistic, very thankful, humble and appreciative of her friends, happy to see them. With her body becoming weaker, she still maintained her spirit.”

Renee Seman also is survived by her 6-year-old daughter, Diane; her parents, Bill and Regina Pinto of Levittown; her brother, Bill Pinto; sister-in-law Mandy Pinto; and niece, Savannah Pinto, all of Orlando.

A celebration of Seman’s life is scheduled from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday at Fullerton Funeral Home, 769 Merrick Rd., Baldwin.

By David Olson

david.olson@newsday.com@DavidOlson11

David Olson covers health care. He has worked at Newsday since 2015 and previously covered immigration, multicultural issues and religion at The Press-Enterprise in Southern California.