Andrea and Olivia Markezich are thrilled to be alongside each other while training on the track. The Bear Creek School juniors are identical twins, after all — it’s part of the family deal.

“It’s the first track season where we are actually training together for the whole season, so it’s good to see how much of a difference the training partner can be. It’s fun training with your sister and it’s a lot easier than training alone,” said Olivia, who was injured during track season last spring.

Added Andrea: “It’s been great having a buddy to help push me in the workouts and in the races. I’m excited for the rest of the season — we still have a lot more work to do for our end goals at state.”

Thus far, the girls have been on a tear.

Andrea leads 1A state runners in both the 1,600 meters (5:07.28) and 3,200 meters (10:57.92), and Olivia is second in the 3,200 (10:58.94) and sixth in both the 1,600 (5:12.89) and 800 (2:22.99).

At the state cross country meet last fall, Andrea took fourth in 18:25.20 and Olivia took sixth in 18:31.10, which was a 20-second personal best.

Olivia started her running career before Andrea, and it took the latter girl a couple seasons to catch up with her sibling. There’s a friendly competition between the sisters, they said, and they push each other to succeed.

“We’re both really supportive of each other. Whenever she has a lot of success, I’m really happy for her; and same with me, when I have success, she’s happy for me, but it feels good to finally have times higher than Olivia,” Andrea said as the two laughed before training on the Redmond High track on Monday.

“We definitely want each other to do our best,” said Olivia, adding that the girls run about 30 miles each per week with a mixture of speed workouts and long and short runs.

Olivia said it’s been fun to develop her mental approach to running over the years, especially strategizing during the distance runs so she can finish on a strong note. The workouts can be grueling, but she embraces the challenge and finds satisfaction in honing her craft.

Andrea added that while parts of training can be tough, she looks forward to a nice long run to recover and get lost in her thoughts. It’s sort of therapeutic, she added, as Olivia nodded her head.

The Reporter asked Olivia and Andrea a series of questions for a behind-the-scenes glimpse into their lives.

Reporter: What’s your biggest pet peeve?

Andrea: I guess when people say “li-bary” instead of “library.”

Reporter: What’s your dream vacation spot?

Olivia: I really wanna visit Sweden. It’s really beautiful.

Andrea: I really wanna visit Thailand and ride an elephant, I think that would be super fun.

Reporter: What’s something unique about you that somebody might not know?

Olivia: I prefer chocolate chip cookies without chocolate chips in them.

Andrea: I just love cooking and baking, and whenever I have free time, that’s always what I do.

Reporter: What’s your favorite hobby?

Olivia: Cooking. I like hiking and canoeing.

Andrea: I love to hike, bake, cook, anything with my friends. Anything outdoors is always fun.

Reporter: What’s your favorite kind of music?

Olivia: I listen to everything. I think I mostly listen to pop music, sometimes country — those are my top two.

Andrea: I usually listen to pop, I love Bruno Mars.

Reporter: Who’s your idol?

Olivia: Shalane Flanagan and Desi Linden.

Andrea: I’ve always looked up to my dad and my brother growing up, I think they’re super cool people. I’ve always wanted to be like them, which I guess is why I started running.

Olivia: True, I did start running because of my dad.