Best friends who share a love for running met two years ago and are about to run their third marathon together. 

Lucy Priest, senior marketing and entrepreneurship major, and Lindsey Sowitch, senior strategic communications major, ran the Fort Worth Cowtown Marathon last year and qualified for the Boston Marathon this year.

“It’s honestly hard to put into words why I like to run,” Priest said. “ I love being with my friends. Running has become a social thing.” 

“I run because it grounds me and allows me to spend intentional time with the people who push me to be the best version of myself,” Sowitch said.

Running together has helped Priest and Sowitch build their friendship. 

“We talked the entire three hours and 15 minutes of the Cowtown Marathon,” Sowitch said. “This may come as a shock to some people, but for us, it keeps running fun and reminds us that we’re here to support one another.”

Sowitch and Priest do a gratitude mile every time they run together.

“We will dedicate a mile to go back and forth listing things we’re grateful for,” Sowitch said. “It can be as simple as ‘I’m grateful for the sidewalk to run on,’ or it can be as deep as you want.”

Strength and weight training, along with running about four to five times a week and cross-training the other two to three days, has helped Sowitch prevent injury, she said.

“I make sure that I listen to my body,” Sowitch said. “I usually run in the mornings, so I eat a good breakfast before my day gets crazy with work and classes. I make sure that I always eat more than I think my body needs.”

Priest starts prepping for a marathon two months before race day. She always runs at least five to 10 miles throughout the days of the week before specifically training for a marathon, so she is ahead of the standard 20-week preparation that a beginner may need. 

“Fluctuating between long and short runs is really important,” Priest said. Long runs train your body to build endurance, help mental toughness and teach discipline. When running shorter distances, it can increase a runner’s speed as well as help aid recovery.

Priest’s marathon training schedule consisted of her running 10 miles, 15 on the weekend and 20 miles the next week.

“I would bring it back down to 15, then to 10. The week before the marathon, I’m doing some tapering. I do six miles, four miles, and then it’s time for my race,” Priest said.