We did it!

I rocked it!

Running the Rock and Roll ½ of the half in Las Vegas last Sunday night for Chai Lifeline was a truly an unbelievably amazing experience.

Even before I ran the race, I was so proud of how much money Devorah and I had raised for Camp Simcha.  We raised over 8,700 dollars. The pre-race pasta party was so emotional for me.  Just watch the following videos.  You too will be in tears.  Watching these videos really hit home and made it all worth it.

Here are some pre-race pictures.

3 Bader kids in one location at one time and none of them live in Las Vegas. Next year, lets have all four of us there and maybe we can all run the race together. 

We asked this guy in the hotel to take our picture and he gave us a 100 dollar bill towards our race after he learned about the cause.  How awesome is that?  True kindness in this world.

Two amazing people that we met on this adventure.  They were running the 1/2 marathon in honor of their sister who is very sick.  They both rocked it!

Pre-Race lunch

Walrus Joe.....

 Jack....I will always love you.....Titanic

  It was really cold before the race.  As the sunset the wind picked up and we were chilly.

I ran hard and pushed myself during the race. I had been running and raising money for months. I didn’t want to let myself down.  After the pre-race pasta party, I didn’t want to let those children down as well.

I could not have done it without the cheers from my brother Joe.  He was there at mile marker 3 and helped me get to the finish line.  Thank you for the cheer leading Joe!

Devorah and I are an amazing team!

Overall, this was an experience to remember and I will be there for those children again.  I am counting on you to help me reach my goal again next year. I am counting on you to run with me!

Thank you to Stephen for all his support over these past few months.  Thank you for holding down the fort while I was running the streets of Las Vegas for the children of Chai Lifeline.

Thank you mom and dad for helping with the kids and supporting me on this journey.  Thank you for continuing to push me to achieve my goals.

Thank you Devorah for encouraging me to run for Chai Lifeline!

Thank you to all my contributors.  I hope you will be there with me next year!  I really could not have done it without your support, motivation, and encouragement.

Chai Lifeline Race

Chai Lifeline Race

What have I learned since I joined the Chai Lifeline team?

 For starters, people are very generous.  I am in awe of how many people have helped me reach my goal.

I also learned that it can’t hurt to ask.  There were several nights that I went through my Facebook list of friends and asked four or five people if they would be willing to donate.  For the most part people donated 36 dollars.  In some cases some people donated more.  The best was when I would ask one person to donate and then another person would also donate.

 I started this adventure accepting the fact that I would have to fork over a lot of money to make my donation goal.  Even after Stephen said I only need 100 friends to donate 36 dollars each, I was still doubtful.  The first time I posted the link, I got a few people to donate.  The second time, I got a few more.  Then it was slow for a while.  I learned that I had to be proactive. 

I learned that I am a stronger runner than I was back in June. 

I learned that I can push myself on Sunday mornings and then feel great for the rest of the day.

I decided to run on Chai Lifeline’s team because they help sick children.  I interact with children all day long. I love teaching my students and being such a big part of their learning experience.  As I run my 6.5 miles next Sunday there will be a few former students that I will really be thinking about.  These students fought cancer or a pediatric illness while in my class.  They were brave and courageous individuals. I will run with them in mind.   I want to say a special thank you to:

Michelle, Elisa, Robin & Mike, Kimmie, Erica, Connie, Adele, Judy & John, Jayne, Linda & Gary, Aliza (my awesome Sunday running partner-you have made me a stronger runner), Risa, Jennifer, Mom & Dad (you guys have helped me so much, I love you!), Jill, Allison, Christine, Cheryl & Jason, Julie, Charles &Malka, Michelle, Margaret (you are an awesome coach!  Thank you for always having me in your thoughts and helping me stay on the roads), Joanie & George, Michelle & Leo, Micah, Alex, Galit, Ilan, &Noah, Ricki & Joel, Kathy, Brian & Quentin, Suzanne, Lauren, Rebecca & Tyler, Stacy, Coach Paddock Rome, Karen, Penny, Anne, Alex, Erin & Matt, James, Chris, Susan, Melissa, Jim & Danielle, Ellen, Ben, Kelly, Kevin & Cheryl, John, Robin, Amy, Gitty, Corrin, Gerry, Tiffany & Shane, Becky, Lori, Daniel, Mike and Mickey, Dominique, Jenn, Neil & Sandy, Annette & Bob, Erin, Menashe & Rona, Judy, Shoshanna, Stacy, Robin, Nicole, Kim, Teri, Jennifer, Jeff, Emily, Nina, Shira, Anita, Rachel & Joel, Jen, Julie, Ishai & Family, Bill, Judy & Bob, Ilana, Bria &Steve, Scott, Debbie, Joanne, Vanessa, Sara, Aileen, Heidi, Ardith, Caryl, Sandy, Aaron & Karen, Leah, Benita, Shawn & Beren, Kurt, Crystal, Melissa, Marcia, Rachelle, Susan, Katie & Josh, Barbara & Rich, Becky, Jen, Eileen, Lottie, Susan & Mort, Robin, Dawn, Barbara, Joie, Erin, Faith, Dean, Roni, Erica, Maura, Susan, Karen, Scott,  Mary, Helen, Avi, Sue, Stacey, Anne

A very special thank you to Devorah for encouraging me to complete this challenge!

A super special thank you to Stephen for helping me get in all my runs!  

Thank you all for being a part of this adventure!