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The 10th annual My Cancer Hero 5K, hosted by State Farm Agent Abbie Gardner Ballew, will take place  Apr. 26, beginning and ending at the Fort Dale Academy football field parking area. 

“This year we want to really celebrate our Heroes, bring their names to you” Ballew said. “We will be signing the race banner with their names the day of the event!”

The 5K, which began as a personal tribute to Ballew’s father, has grown over the past decade into a cherished community event.

“This event is so very special to me,” Ballew said. “I started it when I started my State Farm agency as a way to honor my dad, Jimmy Gardner, but as the years have passed and the races have come and gone, the meaning and love for this race has just grown.

“My mom is a cancer survivor. I have lost many family members and friends to this awful disease and am blessed to stand with and beside survivors and those still fighting! It is just a special day to honor all of those that mean the most.”

Long-time supporter and State Farm Office Manager Kimberly Garlock praised the event’s impact and Ballew’s dedication.

“It’s a great event to both spread awareness and be able to contribute financially to wherever we’re donating that year,” Garlock said. “Abbie works so hard on this. She even pays for things out of her own pocket so that 100% of everything we raise can be donated.”

Parking for the event will be in the Fort Dale Academy upper student lot, with participants encouraged to “get your warm up by walking down to the start line” The registration table will remain open up until 7:30 a.m. the morning of the race with a registration fee of $25.

“Even if you didn’t pre-register, we still want everyone to come,” Garlock added. “We usually have as many that register the day of, as we do that pre-registered.”

Ballew hopes that the annual fundraiser will continue to be a powerful community event filled with love, remembrance and unity.

“As always, we are here to celebrate those that have won the battle with cancer, support those that are still fighting and honor those that lost the fight,” Ballew said.