Hannah, Sara, Catrin, me, Kate, Helen, Emma and Rupa. 

We are eight girls that met at University half our lives ago. We have laughed, cried, danced, fallen, travelled, stayed in and celebrated adult-hood together. We haven't known anything else.

In November 2013, Kate found a lump on her breast. Seven of us were in pieces. Kate wasn't. From the get-go Kate chose to fight. With positivity and determination, and to her absolute credit, in August 2014 she won.  

We revelled in another year of Kate's warmth, her infectious humour and her determination to live life to the full. But two days after a May bank holiday all together in Paris last year, she was diagnosed with secondary cancer. Despite now being spread over three different continents, each one of us saw Kate in her last weeks. She made every one of us smile, just like she always had. 

Five of us girls and our partners have chosen to do Tough Mudder Midlands on 21 May to raise money for the charity Kate supported - Breast Cancer Now. [We have exempted two on the grounds of being pregnant and living 11,000 miles away.] 

It's nothing like anything I have done before and it will push me to my limit - which is the least I can do in Kate's memory and for all those she worked hard to inspire and support through her blog: https://plus.google.com/109857468556469612132/posts.

We are still eight girls, we always will be. Cancer won't ever take that away from us. 

If you are able to support, I would be very grateful.

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