Maryland Zoo 5K Raises $500K for Cancer Care

Cancer survivors laced up their sneakers Sunday at the Maryland Zoo for a cause that's already changing lives and could double survival rates for thousands of women.

The 10th annual Johns Hopkins Below the Belt: Stride & Thrive 5K drew cancer survivors, families, healthcare workers, and community members who raised more than $500,000. Every dollar goes directly to the Kelly Gynecologic Oncology Service at Johns Hopkins to fund specialized treatment and research.

Participants traveled from across the country to walk and run the course. Some came to celebrate their own survivorship, while others honored loved ones still fighting or those they've lost to gynecologic cancers.

The event marks a decade of community support for a mission that goes beyond awareness. The funds raised support cutting-edge research aimed at doubling survival rates through specialized treatment protocols that many patients couldn't otherwise access.

The Ripple Effect

That $500,000 represents far more than a successful fundraiser. It means expanded access to specialized care for women who might not have options otherwise, plus research dollars that could lead to breakthrough treatments.

Johns Hopkins researchers use funds from events like this to test new treatment combinations and develop personalized care plans. When survival rates double, that's not just statistics on paper—it's mothers attending their children's graduations, grandmothers meeting grandbabies, and women getting second chapters they were told might not come.

The community gathering also creates something money can't buy: hope. Survivors meet other survivors, newly diagnosed patients see people thriving years after treatment, and families find support networks that last long after race day ends.

A decade of Stride & Thrive events has now raised millions for gynecologic cancer care. Each year, the crowd grows as more survivors join the walk and more families discover there's a community ready to support them through the hardest fight of their lives.