Competing with Your Twin: What It’s Actually Like

Jan 11

By Abby Lee

Growing up being a twin surprisingly wasn’t all that special.

In 2016, my high school graduating class had ten sets of twins and a set of triplets. There was also a set of quadruplets who were held back a year. Let’s say there was something in the water in 1998.

Although it didn’t feel all that special, we still got asked all the same questions when going anywhere.

Are you guys twins? Yes.

Who’s smarter? She is.

Who’s taller? I am.

Who’s the parents’ favorite? She is.

Who gets all the guys? Neither of us do.

Then, they would ask the worst question yet. Who is faster? We would get annoyed and roll our eyes at this question. This question did not have a simple answer because it changed each week based on what race we were running and how our training went that week.

We started our running careers in middle school. My twin, Chelsea, was always faster than I was at the mile. She was also a lot more comfortable with being uncomfortable. That is when I started running 800’s.

The upperclassmen saw potential in us as runners. They told freshmen year me that if I could stay with this senior, Madison, I could run a good 800-meter race. Well, after the first 500 meters it felt easy, and I blew past Madison. I thought that the 800 would be my event.

One day Chelsea missed the mile and ran the 800 instead, and she fell in love with the race. That day we began competing in the 800 too. That is when I started running 400’s.

As my sister found her primary events to be the 800 and 1000 (indoors), I became more and more of a sprinter, running 400’s every week.

There were seldom events we would run together. But when we did, we would stay on each other’s hip. When one of us made a move, the other would follow. If one of us kicked, so would the other.

I was told once that on the last straight away of a race you must focus your eyes on something straight ahead and chase it down. For me that was the back of my sister’s ponytail.

Throughout high school, we would run 4x400’s at every meet. We would always take turns running either a 59 or a 60 second split. Although we were on the same relay team, we would compete for the fastest split. So, one of us would be disappointed no matter how the relay team finished.

Overall, we loved SMR’s (sprint medley relays) and DMR’s (distance medley relays) where we could run different distances and compete together, which we ultimately like best. Together we broke 12 records.

Our competition made us faster and between our speed and our twin status we were well known track athletes in our area growing up. We are now 23 years old, and people still know us from high school sports.

After high school, we both ran in college. Chelsea ran Division 1 (DI) at the University of Rhode Island, and I went to a small Division 2 (DII) school, Shippensburg University, where I could play volleyball and run track.

The only time our university teams competed was in one 4x400m race. We ran separate legs, but we were still competing for the faster split. At the end of the race, we sprinted to check our times. I got the last win.

Following college, we both continued to be involved in the sports world. Chelsea is about to conclude her master’s program for athletic training to work with athletes and alleviate their injuries. I have been working in marketing for a fast-growing electrolyte drink company called REZ. Rezbev.com is a natural, 0-sugar, low-carb recovery drink great for runners.

Guest Article by Abby Lee

IG: @drinkrez