Running The Philadelphia Half-Marathon in support of
Taylor Buonadonna and her family.

The first official fundraising endurance event of www.RunningOnLove.org, dedicated to its mission to Give Love…Touch Lives, will be The Philadelphia Half-Marathon on November 22nd, 2009. Our mission is to raise funds for brave 16-year-old Taylor Buonadonna, to help her defeat osteosarcoma—a rare form of bone cancer that she was diagnosed with, at the age of 13.

Taylor is one of 6 children. Her parents, West and Maria, are waging a valiant fight to conquer this disease, with the hope and prayer of helping Taylor live a long, healthy and happy life. Taylor has undergone experimental treatment in Texas, accompanied by West who was there caring for her. She continues to be treated at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Please join us in supporting Taylor and her family by making a generous donation. It is our hope that with your generous support, we can ease the financial burden on the Buonadonnas in this time of great need, as they tirelessly work for a cure.

Here is Taylor’s emotional story of courage, hope and faith,
in the words of her father, West Buonadonna.

At first glance, Taylor Buonnadonna is a normal 16 year-old girl. She’s an excellent student, plays the flute and has lots of friends. She was born in South Philadelphia, and now lives in Washington Township, NJ, with her five siblings, parents, grandmother, two dogs, two cats and two hamsters.

One day, while playing on the trampoline, Taylor banged her knee. After a few days, she complained that her knee was still hurting her. Believing this to just be a normal bruise, we told her to put ice on it and the pain would go away. It did. However, about two months later she banged the same knee in the same way. This time the pain did not go away. We felt like someone was trying to tell us something. We took her for an x-ray, which to our horror, revealed a tumor.

In June 2006, at the tender age of 13, Taylor was diagnosed with a bone cancer called osteosarcoma. Of all childhood cancers, osteosarcoma is rare, but it is the most common bone tumor in children; it affects approximately 400 children under age 20 every year.

Taylor began her treatment at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). This treatment included high doses of chemotherapy for nearly a year. She also endured a surgical procedure called limb salvage surgery, where the affected bone was removed from her right leg. For almost two years, we thought Taylor had gone into remission. But we were wrong. The osteosarcoma returned, and this time it was found in her left knee and had spread into her lungs.

After a second limb salvage surgery on the left knee, we brought her to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York for two different clinical trials of chemotherapy. Unfortunately, both of those trials failed to stabilize her disease. By this time, the disease had spread into both of her lungs and multiple bone joints.

Taylor was treated by one of the nation’s leading oncology doctors at The University of Texas’, MD Anderson Cancer Center, hoping to give Taylor a better quality of life. She has since returned home to be near family and friends and continues her treatment plan at CHOP or Sloan Kettering.

We often wish that Taylor’s story could be told on a larger scale. By the kindness of so many that have helped us along the way, her story is now being told. Someday we hope to fulfill Taylor’s wish to publish her story, with all the proceeds going to research for her disease.

Thank you for your kind concern,

        Lori Sperber and Debbie Shapiro

Running in the NYC Marathon on November 2^nd, 2008 with my lifelong friend Debbie Shapiro
I will be running my 4^th marathon, the NYC Marathon on November 2^nd, 2008. This next marathon event is a “must do” for most marathoners. For me, always a Brooklyn Girl at heart, it will be quite special. I will be running and supporting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as I have for my past 3 marathons with the additional goal of raising money for Team IBD Kids. I will be joining my lifelong friend, Debbie Shapiro in this fundraising effort. To support Team IBD Kids please donate now.

What is IBD?
Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, known as IBD, are the most common chronic and serious gastrointestinal disorders affecting children. Both Crohn’s and Colitis tend to strike during childhood at an average age of 12 years old. The cause of these conditions is still unknown. UC can be cured by surgery to remove the entire large intestine. CD can not be cured by surgery. Both are treated with a variety of medications and other therapies.

Imagine what it is like to be a kid with IBD:
•  Eating becomes a struggle and not a source of enjoyment like it is for everyone else
•  You are not like all the other healthy kids who eat anything they want, you are different
•  Frequent trips to doctors and hospitalizations
•  Needles and IVs become commonplace in your life
•  During the hospital stays you are surrounded by sadness and other seriously ill children
•  Having a lowered immunity you are prone to catch other illnesses more easily than other children
•  You often become labeled as “the sick kid”
•  It is not uncommon for normal growth and the ability to mature to be stunted because of your illness, the results of which many children carry into their adult life
•  Missing a lot of school causing added stress and pressure to try to catch up
•  Needing special permission from the school to use the lavatory when needed because of the frequency
•  Swallowing dozens of pills trying to hopefully find a combination that works
•  Receiving intravenous medications that are administered in the hospital
•  Living with the threat of major surgery
•  Living with the permanent scar, both physically and mentally, after surgery

Having a child with IBD is a life changing experience, bringing a great deal of anxiety and stress to the families who have been touched by this. Please help support families who are suffering the way our family did. Please make a generous donation to Team IBD Kids. Donate now.

To Donate by check: Check payable to: Team IBD Kids (Downloadable pdf form)

Team IBD Kids — THE MISSION
The mission of the Children’s IBD Center at Mount Sinai is to provide state of the art comprehensive medical care, in a compassionate environment to children with IBD and their families. The center provides:
•  On-going educational lectures and support groups
•  Website
•  Newsletters
•  Trained parent volunteers who are available to talk to families
•  Ongoing research

In Loving Memory of Ben Strauss

It has been one year since I signed up for my first Team in Training fundraising event for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. It was so rewarding and life-changing that running marathons and fundraising for Team in Training is now an important part of my life. After completing both the NJ and Marine Corps Marathons in 2007, I have committed myself and my time to be a mentor for the team and run in the San Diego Rock-N-Roll Marathon on June 1st, 2008.

I am dedicating and running this marathon in loving memory of Ben Strauss, an extraordinary, kind and loving man, and a dear member of our family. Ben recently lost his brave battle with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. By completing this event in Ben's honor, I hope to help keep his beautiful spirit alive in our hearts and minds.

I have chosen this next event in San Diego at the urging of my family who have been my cheering section at every event and have been inspired by my participation in Team in Training. Aunt Margie, Uncle Bill, Uncle Jeff and Cousins Allie and Steven Strauss live in San Diego and Jeff and I along with our 3 children are thrilled about visiting with them. Our son David is also anxious to challenge his Uncle Bill to a chicken wing eating contest...Sorry David, you don't have a chance!


              Vacation in Hawaii, August 2007

Our children are all helping me fundraise in their own way. Our oldest, Melissa, is an aspiring singer and songwriter who will be offering her new CD online with proceeds being donated to Team in Training. You can hear her tunes by visiting www.myspace.com/melissasperber.

Our son David is so supportive that he has decided to help me with my fundraising for this event as part of his community service requirement for his upcoming Bar Mitzvah. The Rock-n-Roll Marathon is an especially fitting event since David is an awesome guitar player and a huge fan of classic rock.

Jillian, our youngest child, created a fundraising poster and walked the parking lot with me at Giant's Stadium to collect donations from the awesome football fans who were there tailgating before the Giants-Patriots game. The response was generous and overwhelming!

My husband Jeff supports me in everything I do. To keep pace, Jeff now runs anywhere from 2-6 miles a day on the treadmill. He has lost almost 40 pounds and has improved his own health exponentially!

We are fundraising as a family team. I am blessed to have the support of my amazing husband and 3 children. For this next event we are Team Sperber for Team in Training! There are many ways to help us with our fundraising goal. For more information please visit www.runningonlove.org.

Every five minutes, someone new is diagnosed with blood cancer. Every 10 minutes, someone dies. Leukemia causes more deaths than any other cancer among children and young adults under the age of 20. All of us on Team In Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives. I'm completing this event in honor of all individuals who are battling blood cancers. These people are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!

I hope you'll visit my web site often. Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress. Thanks for your support!

Almost as great as running one!

On Sunday, November 4th, my coach from Team in Training, Les Helfman, invited me along with a few of my teammates, to join him by volunteering to escort the Elite Athletes to the starting line of the NY York Marathon. I jumped at the honor of doing this and I am so glad I did. This will be remembered as one of the most wonderful mornings in my life!

As we were escorting these athletes one of my teammates, Carrie, nudged me to see Lance Armstrong join the group. I started snapping pictures of him and then he stopped and stood there staring at me. I couldn't resist...I asked Lance to take a picture with me and quickly passed my camera to Carrie. She snapped the below photo.




 Lance posing for a photo with me, 
               what a nice guy!

My next goal was to cheer for my buddy Debbie Shapiro who was running that morning, and try to get a photo of her. One of Coach Les's friends Ray joked with me that it was a huge long shot that I would ever see her cross the start line in light of the fact that there were 35-40,000 runners there that morning. He bet me $1,000 that I wouldn't see her. Knowing the kind of luck I was having that morning, I should have taken him up on his wager!



Debbie toasting me with her water bottle, 
just after she came across the starting line!

As if escorting the world's fastest men and women marathon runners, meeting Lance Armstrong, getting to cheer for my lifelong friend wasn't memorable enough, it was all topped off by having my "1 second of fame" by being on NBC channel 4 as I escorted the men to the start! My son David memorialized this by snapping a photo of the freeze frame on TV.



                  My 1 second of fame!




                       Coach Les and me

My heartfelt thanks to the man who made this all possible.  My dear Team in Training Coach, mentor and friend, Les, you're the best!!!

 "Put it in the Books!"



On Sunday, October 28th, 2007, one very beautiful fall morning, I was determined to complete my second marathon run for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training in loving memory of Marty and Sue Sperber my beloved in-laws. Well I am pleased to announce you can now "Put it in the Books!"

The weather angels were on call on Saturday and did their job to perfection. The weather driving down to DC on Friday was raining and awful and Saturday was equally miserable. My weather angels did not miss a beat and brought us what was said to be the most beautiful weather the Marine Corps Marathon has ever had in its 32 year existence. Clear, cool, and gorgeous. Coincidence? Fat chance!!

I was so discombobulated when we were leaving the house to head to Washington with all of the tell tale signs of pre-marathon jitters that I forgot to pack the Yahrzeit memorial candle to light in memory of my mother-in-law on the eve of the race. As many already know, October 27th was the official date for her candle lighting...just another NON-Coincidence. So Saturday morning my husband Jeff went on a mad search to find candles. At every supermarket in DC they looked at him like he had 4 heads when he asked where the Yahrzeit candles were. As luck would have it we were meeting our phenomenal cousins, the Pauls and VanValkenburghs from Maryland for a pre-marathon lunch on Saturday. Mindy and Joy came to the rescue with candles on hand, calamity averted!

Seeing our thoughtful cousins in DC was so special. I thought it was curious that I was getting the 3rd degree about what just exactly I was planning to eat for breakfast just before the marathon. That was until we went back to the hotel room that evening to find a basket of fresh fruit, breakfast bars and water bottles. Put a double exclamation point after "our thoughtful cousins!! This certainly took the edge off of having to find food at 5 am before heading out to the start and gave me time for a few extra stretches. Something that still hurts to do right now!



                   I am on my way...a very long way!



                   Running past the Washington Memorial

The Sperber cheering section chased me all over Washington with cameras on hand. They tried to get some of the national monuments in the photos. I am glad they did because after mile 15 or so I didn't notice many of them myself...I was busy looking for that finish line! Ughh!

It was truly inspiring to run with the Marines. They were there at every water stop encouraging us, calling us by name, and ready with a high five.  This event is known as "The People's Marathon" and there are no elite runners paid to enter this race. All the winners are ordinary Americans just proud to take part.  For much of the race I was running with men carrying the American flag the entire way. It was very inspiring and made us all feel so proud to be participants.

At the long intervals between spotting me on the course, Jeff and the kids took advantage of the amazing sites in DC. As you can see, it was a most beautiful day!


            Jeff and David in front of the Lincoln Memorial




      Jeff and Jillian with the White House in the background

As only the Marines would have it, the final 1/4 mile to the finish line was straight up hill! This made it even sweeter to cross that finish line while being greeted by dozens of fine young marines! My official finishing time was 5:45:49 which is a new personal record, 10 minutes quicker than the NJ Marathon.



                         Running "up hill" to the finish line!


To watch video of me crossing the finish please wait for the video ad to end and move the scroll bar to 6:05:48.



      David, Jillian and me in front of the Iwo Jima Memorial
                         after the marathon finish

After making my way through the finish line with my emotions getting the best of me, my finishers' medal was placed around my neck by a young marine. I continued on and made my way to the sweetest part of all...the loving arms of my family. The best place to be in the entire world!

Training Update - Marine Corps Marathon

There is only 2 1/2 months left until the big day, October 28th, The Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC. I have been training since early June and I don't know why I thought that this time around it would be easier...it is not! I pretty much know what I am in for but as in life, there are always some surprises. Here are the cliff notes to my past 2 months of training:

• The first Training run in Milburn: I ran 5 miles at a 10 minute pace knocking at least 3 minutes per mile off of my NJ Marathon pace. Looking good right? Hmmmm...
• Trail run in Lafayette NJ: This run was on a trail that was quite rocky and full of debris. The schedule called for 8 miles that day. At mile 2 I tripped and I found myself face down in the dirt. I stood up muddy, bleeding from my forehead and hands. I had to decide "do I go on or do I turn back?" I thought, "hey I'm training with the Marines! I am going on!" At the water stop my teammates helped me wipe away the mud and the blood and I went on to run my 8 miles that day. The silver lining: there were massive piles of horse manure all throughout the trail. It could have been MUCH worse!
• Knee Injury...oh no! After getting home from Lafayette I removed my training clothes to assess the damage and found that my right knee was severely bruised. Coincidentally (or not) soon after this accident my right knee started giving me problems. So much so that I wound up back at my acupuncturist and chiropractor and putting a halt on my training runs for a few weeks. Oh no, here I go again! ughhhh!
• I found my Chi! By late July I was feeling better and resumed my training. I found a book called Chi Running which talks about learning how to run from your "Chi" which is easier on your knee(s) as well as other body parts. Hey, I like the sound of that!

The NYC 1/2 Marathon: Fast forward to August 5th, 2007. I entered to run in the NYC Half Marathon with my life long friend, Debbie Shapiro. It was also her birthday so we were celebrating our friendship and her birthday by running in this event together.



Debbie Shapiro and me the day before the NYC Half Marathon

We went into NY the day before to stay overnight, celebrate Debbie's birthday, and be there in the starter's corral in Central Park at 6:15am sharp. The morning of the race I was pretty nervous about not having run more than 9 miles since April and having taken so much time off from my training. There was a 3 hour time limit for the runners. My goal was simple this time: Finish in under 3 hours without getting injured and before the meat wagon picks me up!

I had the Sperber cheering section on hand in Central Park all decked out in Running on Love T-shirts. Central Park in my humble opinion was one gigantic hill. I couldn't wait to get out of there! As I headed out of the park towards Times Square we had the NYPD Blue on their bull horns yelling at us in thick NY accents: "Hey you runners, its 8:30am and you're running down Times Square! It don't get better than that!" I couldn't agree more.

At mile 11 the muscle cramps were setting in and I felt like I did at the end of the full marathon. Maybe worse! I began stopping and stretching periodically. I stopped at the last water stop and some guy tried to hand me a water cup and his fingers were sticking deep inside the cup. I reached past him politely to grab a different cup and he started yelling at me "Hey Lori!!!" I turned in disbelief and it was Jack, my Team in Training Mentor! We are still having a good laugh over this one.

So, did I meet my goal? Absolutely! There will be no meat wagons for Lori Sperber!


Here I am looking very chipper and ahead of my 
                unnamed opponent!!



From left to right: Jillian Sperber, David Sperber, my
  sister-in-law Margie Strauss and nephew Steven

Check out the gorgeous weather in these photos. This race day was delightful, cool, clear and perfect running weather. The day before this race and the day after this race it was sweltering into the 90's and severely humid.  On this day, the weather was just what the running doctor ordered! I do believe I was being protected by a couple of weather angels!



From left to right: Our son David, my husband Jeff, a very
         tired and sore Lori, and our daughter Jillian
(FYI: Our daughter Melissa was traveling and touring Chicago that day)

The race ended in Battery Park. My chip time was 7 minutes better than it was in the Brooklyn Half Marathon in April. I guess you could say this is now my PR or Personal Record. I believe running is a great sport because your only true competition is yourself. Oh what a beautiful feeling...to finish a 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles) and celebrate with the people that you love! Just amazing!

In Loving Memory and Honor of Sue and Marty Sperber

Well good things can become an addiction too! After the incredible journey I had experienced as a member of Team in Training and completing the NJ Marathon in April, I just couldn’t help myself. As many of my dear friends and family predicted, I am doing it all again!

I am now training to run in the Marine Corps Marathon on October 28th in Washington DC as a proud member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training. I will be doing this event in loving memory and honor of Sue and Marty Sperber, my dear in-laws who have now both passed on. It is with great honor, love and joy that I dedicate myself to complete this fundraising effort as a tribute to two of the kindest and most loving people I have ever known.

They Were the Definition of Love
In my life, I have been extremely blessed. One of the sweetest blessings I have enjoyed is receiving unconditional love from the two most wonderful people, Martin and Sue Sperber. These two loving and devoted parents and grandparents, showered us all with love and affection whenever they could. They never missed an opportunity to send us cards on every occasion, to be there in our time of need, or to rejoice in our happiness. They embraced me immediately and always treated me like their daughter. There was always a card for me on Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Birthdays, and Anniversaries and they always read “Dear Daughter”, never "Daughter-in-law". They gave their love and devotion fully and unconditionally, without any expectation of receiving or needing anything in return, not even a thank you. Our needs and happiness were always paramount and placed ahead of their own. I will always cherish their beautiful memory and will be forever grateful for having had them in my life.

As I passed the 20 mile mark during my NJ Marathon run, it was incredibly tough to keep going. I found that it was difficult to even drink water let alone take in nutrition that I needed for fuel. What kept me going when I was running on empty? In a word, Love. When I am running the Marine Corps Marathon my inspiration will be my love for Mama Sue and Papa Marty. I have no doubt that my love and admiration for them will carry me all the way to the finish line .

Cancer, regardless of what type it may be, does not discriminate on who it shall strike next. All of us have been touched by this in our lives and can relate to the pain it causes families all over the world. Let's work together to do what we can to help those in their time of need. All of us on Team in Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives. Please make a donation to support my participation in Team in Training and help advance the Society's mission.

I hope you'll visit my web site often. Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress.

Thanks for your support!