In college, I ran with two good buddies of mine three times each week. Those runs were usually pretty short, but we took the 45 minutes together to de-stress, to talk, to rant, to laugh, to celebrate, to catch up, to socialize. Whether we were doing a jog to St. Olaf across the river, a quick run through our small college town, or a hilly stretch of miles through the arboretum, we found peace as we moved with each other.
My friends' incredible personalities and genuine care came on each of our runs. When I broke up with an ex, was noticeably stuffy and puffy from having cried all night, my friends pushed me through the run, smack talking said ex, making it impossible for me to conceal a broad, toothy, nearly painful smile, and encouraging me to "single girl shimmy" immediately.
