Runner girls

The main two girls I run with, Kate and Katie, are the bomb.com.

Generally, Kate is my partner for evening runs in the town where I work, and Katie's my girl for early mornings in the town where I live. Here are eight reasons I love running partners -- and specifically the two of them.

Misery loves company. When it's 20 degrees or 100 degrees or raining cats and dogs, neither of us would be there without the other, but we're both glad to be there. Does that make sense?

They share my exercise philosophies. We don't count calories. We do eat dessert. We're always up for pancakes and coffee after a run. That's WHY we run.

They push me harder than I would push myself. Thanks to Katie I finally ran a marathon. Kate makes me do pushups and crunches after runs. Between the two of them I'm about 50 percent convinced to try to qualify for Boston in 2008. They shamelessly, successfully, play on my pride.

They know more than I do about running. Kate ran in college and is a high school track coach. Katie used to coach cross country and was approached by our local running czar about replacing him when he retires. They have taught me a lot about speedwork, hydrating, stretching and other boring necessities.

They keep me accountable. When I'm supposed to run with one of them I can't hit snooze for an hour or sacrifice running for a nap before dinner. They make me go even when I don't feel like it.

They force variety. Left to my own devices I'd probably run the same five miles day in and day out. Working around their schedules and preferences makes me mix it up. And variety (of routes, surfaces and distances) is essential to staying motivated.

Good conversation makes the time fly. Everyone I know craves more uninterrupted time with friends. You get to know people well, and you bond quickly, when you regularly run five to 20+ miles together.

They share many of my quirks. We have smelly beat-up feet. We lose toenails. We hate treadmills. We wear Ironman watches to weddings. We stay hungry. We always have a water bottle. We love cute floaters and race T-shirts and body glide and 26.2 decals and runner's expos and cheap gold medals. We read Kristin Armstrong's blog and wish we could be her friend.