Name: Blaze's 5k and F Cancer Festival!
Start: 2025-04-13T08:00:00-04:00
Location: Heavy Seas Beer

What is Blaze’s 5K & F Cancer Festival
Blaze’s 5K & F Cancer Festival is both a fundraiser and a celebration of life in honor of Blaze and all the other dogs who have been lost to lymphoma. Our goal is to raise money for The Perseus Foundation in order to help provide costly life-saving treatment for our canine companions. A huge thank you to all of our SPONSORS who make this event possible!
What to expect
Blaze’s 5K & F Cancer Festival will take place at Heavy Seas Beer in Halethorpe, MD. Get ready for an action packed party with games, raffles, guest speakers, Heavy Seas Beer, Kooper’s Burgers, and a chance to win the inaugural Blaze’s fundraising trophy! Scheduled events include a timed 5K race and a dog adoption event with A Home of Their Own Animal Rescue. We’ll have fun for the whole family, so come out and help us raise money for a great cause!
*Well behaved, leashed, and vaccinated dogs are welcome! Dogs cannot run the 5K race. Please be sure to be safe and respectful of others and their pets. Blaze Adventure Tours LLC and its volunteers are not responsible for the safety of you and your pet.*
Must register before March 1st, 2025 to guarantee tee-shirt availability.
What’s Included?
Tee-shirt
Event swag bag
5K finisher medal
5k age group and overall awards
Prizes for the top 3 fundraising teams
Games and entertainment
Exciting raffle prizes!
Kid’s (or adult!) scavenger hunt
Fun for the whole family!
Blaze’s Story
For Blaze’s whole story, follow this link, it’s a bit long so we had to summarize below.
Blaze came to us in April of 2019 from Haigler’s English Shepherds out of Monroe, North Carolina. He was nine weeks old and immediately we knew he would be the best thing that ever happened to us. He was fiercely protective, steadfastly loyal, smart as a whip, and sweet as can be. Blaze quickly became an integral part of our family. We spent our lunch breaks walking to his favorite field to throw the frisbee and the afternoons lounging in the sun together. He was our go-to hiking and trail running buddy and never met a meal he didn’t like.
In August of 2022, we noticed a lump under Blaze’s jaw. We immediately made an appointment with our vet at the time. After multiple tests came back inconclusive, we had an x-ray done, which found a large mass in his chest cavity and a probable diagnosis of lymphoma. Veterinary Referral Associates in Gaithersburg, MD gave us a definitive diagnosis: mediastinal diffuse small B-cell lymphoma. A rare and aggressive form of the disease that is not well studied. Our hearts were shattered.
Currently the only possible cure for canine lymphoma is a bone marrow transplant. The cure rate for allogeneic (donor) transplants is 80-90%, but the procedures are very expensive, often $25,000-$50,000 or more. The only facility in the world that performs this life-saving treatment is Bellingham Veterinary run by Dr. Edmund Sullivan.
In May 2023 after months of chemotherapy, bone marrow transplant donor matching, and too many ups and downs to count we packed up and headed to Bellingham with Blaze and his hero donor, Hoss. We finally got to meet Dr. Sullivan and his staff, who immediately put our minds at ease. Blaze and his donor were in great hands.
Just one month later, Blaze’s rare and aggressive form of canine lymphoma returned with a vengeance. We worked with his transplant team and his oncology team at VRA to come up with a plan of attack, but Blaze’s cancer was just too aggressive. We let him go in the comfort of his own home, after two weeks filled to the brim with all of his favorite things, on August 25th, 2023.
Blaze will never be replaced, but we can try to fill that void in a way that will honor his legacy and the valiant fight he gave. That’s how the idea of Blaze’s 5K & F Cancer Festival came to fruition: a way to keep Blaze’s spirit alive while helping other families faced with this devastating diagnosis, in the hopes that their story won’t end the way Blaze’s did.
Donating to The Perseus Foundation
Founded in Maryland, The Perseus Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The team at Perseus provides financial assistance to families faced with a cancer diagnosis in their beloved companions. The Perseus Magic Fund seeks to fill a gap that currently exists for pet owners who are seeking novel and costly treatment and require help in defraying the cost. This fund is specific to bone marrow transplants, T-cell immunotherapy, and stereotactic radiosurgery. The Magic Fund is what helps dogs like Blaze get the second chance at life that they deserve.
The Perseus Foundation embraces challenges, pursues promising studies and research, and supports pet guardians any way they can. Ultimately, the foundation will move its headquarters to Bellingham, WA to become part of Dr. Sullivan’s and Dr. Westfall’s Veterinary Immunotherapy Center.
By donating to The Perseus Foundation, you will have a meaningful impact on countless families seeking the treatment their canine companions need to live a full and wonderful life.
Other Ways to Help and Sponsor!
If you are interested in sponsoring the event or donating goods or services, please contact us at [email protected]