Toms River teacher shares the story of her Mount Kilimanjaro climb

Several years of planning and saving resulted in several days of hiking in August for a Toms River teacher and her husband.

Central Regional High School teacher Renu Chander climbed Mount Kilimanjaro over the summer, making it 19,341 to the top.

In a lenghty interview with Toms River Patch, Chander talks about the months of training she and her husband did to prepare for the climb, and details by day the physical toll the weather and atmosphere took on the couple as they neared the peak.

“The first day was tropical,” Chander told Patch. “We were in T-shirts and shorts. The second day we changed to fleece. By the third day you are getting to arctic temperatures.”

To keep them motivated, the pair turned their climb into a fundraiser, collecting a combined $6,000 for the Central Regional Interact Club and the Rotary Gift for Life Foundation.