I'm so excited to be riding in this year's PMC! I was fortunate enough to work as a PMC intern last summer and learned a lot about this amazing organization and all those who ride.

First off, thank you to all of the members of the PMC team in the office and all the volunteers for all you do and how hard you work! Knowing how everything goes in the office, I'm looking forward to being on the other side this year and see you all pull off another wonderful event!

I have a lot to be thankful for in this life and I'm excited to use this ride as a way to celebrate all those who inspire me every day and who make me a better person. This year I will be riding alongside one of my best friends, Caroline Trustey, in memory of her father Joe Trustey, captain and memeber of Team Daisy/Summit Partners, who passed away days before last years PMC. Along with riding in memory of Joe Trustey, I'd like to ride this year in memory of Anna and AJ Trustey, Victoria McManus, and Jake Scanlan.

Cancer has touched my life in many ways but one person in my life I am grateful to have met through cancer is 8 year old Bobby Russell (click on my profile picture if you'd like to see a photo montage of our 3 years together so far!). I met Bobby my sophomore year at Notre Dame. He was 4 at the time and batteling Non Hodgkin's B-Cell Lymphoma. I spent many hours with him during chemo treatments playing candy land and bingo. He became incredibly important in my life and I'm so lucky he is still in my life to this day. I'm excited that he is doing well and the Memorial Hospital in South Bend was able to help save his life.

I appreciate all that Dana Farber does for little kids like Bobby. Bobby has given me many things but some of my favorites are: perspective, strength, and the ability to always see the joy in life. There are never enough words to explain how much Bobby's friendship means to me but in my years at Notre Dame I've been fortunate to share our story with others in hopes that some day I will be able to do it justice. If you'd really like to read more about my relationship with Bobby and how much he really has done for me, feel free to read this link or watch the video produced by the amazing people of Notre Dame:

http://strongofheart.nd.edu/profiles/2014/katherine-mcmanus/

Thank you! God Bless and as always Go IRISH!