“For my sweet Casey.” -- Gulf Shores' Samantha Scott upon finishing the New York City Marathon on Nov. 1.

A tickled and tearful Samantha Hallum Scott smiled as a finisher’s medal for the TCS New York City Marathon was placed around her neck on Nov. 1. For more than six hours, she covered the 26.2 miles while carrying the memory of her husband, Casey Scott, every step of the way.

Especially about 16 miles in.

“I was dealing with a pretty gnarly knee injury about mile 16,” Samantha said. “Just praying, praying to God. And then just asking Casey, ‘You got to give me the strength to finish this. I can't walk the last 10 miles of this. Just the strength to get through the entire thing.’ And I did finish it running the whole way.”

About one year ago, Casey was battling double pneumonia when tests revealed something even more alarming – lung cancer.

On Oct. 14, 2026, Casey posted about his yearlong medical troubles but said he was ready to make the trip to New York to watch Samantha.

“My badass wife is running the NYC marathon in two weeks,” Casey posted on Oct. 14. “She chose GO2 for Lung Cancer as her charity to honor what we have been through for the last year. … She’s convinced me to come cheer her on. It’ll be my first time in NYC! I’m not running it, clearly, but I’ll be at the finish line cheering on my girl.”

Just two days later, Oct. 16, Casey, known to many as “Flea,” went into cardiac arrest as his lungs started failing. He was revived by emergency crews but suffered a traumatic brain injury from oxygen loss during the medical emergency. He died the following day. He was 48. In addition to Samantha, he leaves behind his two sons.

“I signed up for this race with the GO2 for Lung Cancer charity team as a way to honor Casey’s courageous fight, and I still plan to do that,” she wrote from the airport on Oct. 30. “I never dreamed I’d be crossing that finish line without him there.”

On the Wednesday before Casey died, he was encouraged by a nurse during chemo treatment.

“Everything's gonna be great,” the nurse told him. “You're gonna be fine. You're gonna have so much fun.”

Samantha said she is grateful for the support shown by the Alabama Gulf Coast community after Casey’s passing. Many came to know him through his work for Island Fiber (now Point Broadband) in Orange Beach. According to his obituary and GCM’s previous reporting, he was also an artist who painted pet portraits through his business, Casey on Canvas. He had recently begun a new chapter with C Scott Art, his obituary says, and recently had his work displayed at the Coastal Arts Center of Orange Beach.

“It always takes someone passing away for people to share all of their stories,” Samantha said. “I knew he was loved and I knew he was friends with everybody, but I didn't even realize it was that much.”