PHOTO COURTESY OF MAX OLSON

Heider College of Business senior Max Olson, family and friends ride on Day 3 of the CUREage Ride before a more than 1,000-foot climb dubbed “Climbing for the Kids.” The riders take on the climb as part of the multi-day CUREage Ride to help raise awareness for pediatric cancer.

On Tuesday, Sept. 22, at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago, Creighton University’s very own Heider College of Business senior Max Olson and College of Arts and Science junior Jack O’Neill embarked on the 2026 Cal’s Angels Pediatric Cancer Foundation’s CUREage ride, not only to help raise money for pediatric cancer research, but also to honor the life of Max Olson’s younger sister, Ava.  

“In life, they say, you die twice. [The first time is] when your heart stops beating and the [second is the] last time somebody mentions your name. And that’s something that keeps my mind for her legacy. [It’s] that I want to carry on the lessons that she taught me and make a change so that other kids don’t have to go through the same things that she did. And if doing the ride is a small way to make that happen, then I will do it every year for the rest of my life without question and try to do more as well in the process,” Olson said. 

The 2026 CUREage Ride, which occurred during pediatric cancer awareness month, spanned over the course of five days with continual biking over a total distance of over 450 miles. Traveling north, according to the Cal’s Angel Pediatric Cancer Foundation’s website, this group of around 21 bikers and five to 10 support staff traveled from Chicago all the way to Verona, Wisconsin, and circled back to their starting point.  

“I got to talk to [Max ] more about [the CUREage ride] when they were here for the summer… it’s with people that I love being around. And so, I decided, I’ll do it. I look forward to it. I’ve heard nothing but great things about the ride. I think it’ll be a great time and for a great cause,” O’Neill said ahead of the ride. 

According to Olson, the ride is not the only way the foundation fundraises and advocates for pediatric cancer patience and research.  

“Cal’s Angels also grants wishes to kids, provides support to families, funds research and then does big awareness campaigns, especially during the month of September, which just happens to be the month that we do the ride because that is pediatric cancer awareness month,” Olson said.   

Olson and O’Neill are joined alongside family members and friends in their fundraising group, Team AGO.  

“I’m in the car with Rick, who’s our family friend, [and] my dad right here. And then my cousin Austin as well. [Then] Jack, and then also our friend Maggie from home, consists of what we call Team AGO, which is kind of just our own personal branding for our group of friends who ride in honor of my sister,” Olson said. 

Ava Olson, at the age of nine, was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer, Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DPIG). According to Olson, this type of terminal cancer attaches to the brain stem, ultimately rendering it inoperable.  

“It’s essentially a death sentence. There hasn’t been any progression of treatment methods since Neil Armstrong’s daughter had it over 50 years ago, and less than 1% of all DIPG patients, who are diagnosed, live longer than three years from their diagnosis date. … the next six months from her diagnosis, she inevitably passed,” Olson said.  

Olson expressed the deep-rooted admiration he had for his sister’s relentless optimism during her fight against DPIG, as she underwent physical therapy and radiation – some of which was administered at Chicago’s Lurie Children’s Hospital – to improve her mobility and health. 

“She fought incredibly hard. I remember the first week when she was diagnosed, she could barely walk, and she did physical therapy and radiation to a point where she was able to surf and jump off waterfalls on her Make a Wish [trip] in Hawaii. And that’s just something that I always keep in my mind,” Olson said. “She could have lost hope. She could have just been pessimistic, but she fought so that she could live life to the fullest. She always told my parents and myself, ‘Don’t be a crybaby’ whenever we would get sad when she was going through treatment and looked sick or just was having a bad day. She would say, ‘Don’t be a crybaby. It’s all going to be okay.’ And those are just kind of some of the things that we [use to] try to carry on.” 

In preparation for the ride, the two Creighton students participated in fitness challenges, in what Olson’s father has coined the “Do Hard Things Tour.”  

“In the summer and the fall, [we] just try and put as many things on the calendar that make us uncomfortable [and] that challenge [or] push us to be better in a fitness sense. But also, as we’re training for fitness, that translates to this idea of Cura Personalis as well. Our spiritual, our mental, even academically … [it’s] kind of a multifaceted approach to training for this [ride], but it’s been a joy… I’m blessed to have a friend like Jack in the process of doing it for sure,” Olson said.  

The tour itself was comprised of numerous fitness events. From Olson’s completion of the Iron Man 70.3 Omaha, to the two running a 50k around Creighton’s campus, according to O’Neill, this self-started tour has trained them in many different aspects of sports that can further aid in their ability to complete the five-day ride. In addition to this ride, their tour will continue with their eyes set on more fitness challenges later in the year.  

“This isn’t the only event that we’re doing. We’ll be doing Iron Man Florida. And so, we already were getting a lot of volume on running, biking and swimming. We’re just upping the bike a little bit to prepare for this [ride] …That’ll translate pretty well,” O’Neill said.  

For Olson, this will be his third time completing the ride, but for O’Neill, this will be his first time embarking on the CUREage ride. According to him, the rewarding feeling does not only stem from his ability to give back and help honor Ava Olson’s fight, but the ability to make new friendships, gain new experiences and master abilities he never would’ve done individually.  

“It goes back to the start of Max and I’s friendship. I’m super lucky to have someone as inspiring as Max … You would never catch me doing anything endurance [before meeting him]. No running or anything. And it really speaks a lot to how motivating of a person Max is because now I’m doing this stuff with him. And I have someone to train with, someone to help me get into it,” O’Neill said. “Without Max, I don’t think I would have ever gone down this realm. And so, it’s such an easy decision to be able to join in for this. I consider myself lucky that I’m able to join him and his family and a lot of family friends in celebrating his sister’s life and letting her legacy live on.” 

According to the Cal’s Angels Pediatric Cancer Foundation’s website, this race is meant to symbolize the challenges, both physically and mentally, pediatric cancer patients must face in their fight against cancer. Aware of the race’s rigor, Olson and O’Neill hoped to make an even greater difference while honoring those who have fought or are currently fighting pediatric cancer. 

“When it comes [down to being] just by yourself when you’re on a race, and you have nobody else nearby, I just remind myself of what I owe to my sister and my family. And to myself [and] the amount of work that we’ve put in to get to this moment,” Olson said. “Oftentimes, it’s a privilege to have the pain or the soreness or the tiredness that you do. And I think that’s a beautiful thing in life to have that privilege and [it] just makes the moment that much sweeter.”