FEBRUARY 3 • 2022 | 27
HONORING CARA’S
COURAGE
Ten years ago, Shoshana
Fain, 35, decided to run a
half-marathon — 13 miles
— in the Miami Marathon
as a tribute to Cara, who
was still undergoing treat-
ment.
The Fains had gotten to
know the Lopatins when
they were members of
Asher Lopatin’s congrega-
tion, Anshe Sholom B’nai
Israel in Chicago. By the
time Cara was diagnosed,
the Lopatins had moved to
New York. Although the
Fains would soon follow
them to the Big Apple, and
both families moved to
Michigan in 2018, the fam-
ilies were living far apart in
2012. Shoshana Fain wanted
to support the Lopatins
somehow, and running a
half-marathon in Cara’s
honor seemed a perfect
choice.
“This felt like a small
way to show my love and
support while also working
toward a personal goal,” she
said.
Fain developed a training
schedule, raised more than
$10,000 for Team Lifeline
and completed the course
more quickly than she imag-
ined she would. The fol-
lowing year, she established
Team Cara and recruited
other friends and family
members. More than 30
people have participated in
Team Cara since then, rais-
ing more than $500,000 for
Chai Lifeline.
Fain met her husband
shortly before her first Team
Lifeline race. He has run
with her every year since
2013.
She took a break from
running in 2015, when she
started having children.
Earlier this year, she met
a woman who had lost a
son to cancer but was very
grateful for the support
Chai Lifeline had provided
at the end of his life. That
“made me realize that it was
time to lace up and get back
to Miami,” Fain said.
She says she trains by
running in nearby neigh-
borhoods: two runs of two
to four miles and one longer
run every week.
Rachel Lopatin, 54, will be
participating in the Miami
half marathon for the sixth
time. “I went down two
years before that to cheer
Team Cara on before run-
ning it myself,” she said.
Lopatin reluctantly admits
that she is not a runner and
actually walks most of the
course. She usually trains
by walking outdoors with
her husband or alone on
a treadmill, going four to
six miles most days, with
an eight-mile walk once a
week.
One of Team Cara’s big-
gest supporters is Cara’s
grandfather, Warren Tessler
of West Bloomfield, who
comes to Miami to cheer the
team on. “He waits in the
stands in the heat or rain
and waits for every member
of Team Cara to cross the
finish line,” Lopatin said.
Cara Lopatin says she is
grateful to Camp Simcha
and Chai Lifeline for pro-
viding joy, fun and ease for
her family while she was
undergoing cancer treat-
ment.
“It is such an honor to
have a Team Cara and to
inspire people to support
such an impactful organiza-
tion that really transformed
my family’s cancer experi-
ence,” she said.
Readers wishing to support Team
Cara can make a pledge at Fain’s
marathon website, https://www.team-
lifeline.org/miami22/shoshanafain.
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