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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