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Friends run for a good cause
Updated: February 11, 2013 6:27AM
Lauren Blue Schifferdecker, of Northbrook, and Lynn Cole, of Skokie, are two women who proudly bask in each other’s shadows, especially during the Fresh Start 5K Race which stepped off Dec. 29 at Blue Life Coaching at 3100 Dundee Road, Northbrook.
Proceeds assisted RISE International of Northfield, headed by Cole, who serves as executive director. RISE has built 146 schools since 2003, impacting more than 90,000 students. Schifferdecker, a 1999 Glenbrook North H.S. graduate, is a licensed counselor and life coach at Blue Life Coaching (www.bluelifecoaching.com). Cole and her late husband, Dr. Andrew Cole, raised four children through Winnetka public schools: Megan, Stephanie, Rachel and Ross. Schifferdecker and her husband John have two children, Barrett, 3, and Vivienne, 2.
Q. Lauren, what was the goal of the Fresh Start 5K race?
A. One of the reasons that we do the race is because when you’re trying to, you know, live a great life, do things well. One of the best ways to do it is to challenge yourself, and we found that with exercise, and community and togetherness, that it really goes hand in hand. And it’s a really great time to be together, and to start off the New Year with pushing yourself, into physically feeling the air in your lungs and the sun on your face and running outside. It is a bit cold, but at the same time, it’s a great way to move into your next most radiant self. It’s just a fun way to feel alive and to feel together.
Q. Lynn, what does this race symbolize year-round for you?
A. We are an organization that builds schools in Angola, and so it’s a coming together of involving people. We host a number of races and have people who like to run and it’s just a very cool connection.
Q. Lauren, what would be your wish for the New Year?
A. You know, that’s a great question. My wish for the New Year would just be that for myself and just anybody that I encounter that they see their potential for themselves to live a bigger life, to do things to make the world a more beautiful place. We all have just so much potential that we have within ourselves. Sometimes we tap and sometimes, we haven’t even scratched the surface. So I always hope, when I look into the New Year, I think of the possibilities and the beautiful things that can emerge as I get to know myself better and just kind of set goals to live a bigger life.
Q. Lynn, what is your hope for the New Year?
A. Well, one of my resolutions would just be to broaden the mission of Rise (www.riseinternational.org). There are 4 million kids who don’t have a school to attend. It’s a country that lived through 27 years of civil war. So I love to just make people aware.
