Humphries Find Routine In Shared Experiences

Shortly before 7 a.m., an alarm goes off.

Thank goodness. A little more sleep than usual.

Samantha and Nicole Humphries share this unspoken relief. Call it twin telepathy, perhaps.

It's a Friday, so that means a 7:30 a.m. start time for cross country practice -- a half-hour later than sessions held earlier in the week -- and some extra snooze minutes for the two high school juniors.

They soon make their way to Flower Mound High School for practice in the family sedan to begin their identical Fridays as twin sisters, star runners, training partners and friends.

On Fridays, and every other day of the week, Samantha and Nicole spend every minute of their time together -- literally.

They wake up each morning in the same house. They venture to Flower Mound together. They navigate nearly identical class schedules. And then there's cross country practice, where they run the same workouts, even down to the daily mileage and workout splits.

That doesn't even take into account race days, traveling with teammates to meets and registering eerily similar times and finishes, usually finishing within just seconds or mere places of one another.

Don't they ever get tired of one another?

Sure, they say, but Samantha and Nicole say those moments are few and far between.

Life with a twin, according to the Humphries, is unlike some of the typical stereotypes, ones depicting twin relationships as intense love-hate rivalries.

"We basically have the same life, so it's less lonely," Nicole said. 

Nicole likes to say that she's the dramatic twin, whereas Samantha keeps herself calm and collected as supposedly the more logical thinker. On race day, you can find Nicole laughing and dancing her way through pre-race drills, while a serious Samantha embraces a no-nonsense attitude, almost looking like she's on the verge of tears, Nicole jokes.

Outside of meets, though, it's more lighthearted all around. 

They sling around jokes or goof off with teammates on easy runs.

"It's cool knowing that we're different than everyone else, our experiences," Samantha said.

Even when competing head-to-head in nearly every race, there are no rivalries. It'd be easy for twins and teammates to do that, Nicole said, but they haven't fallen into that toxic trap.

"We've been asked a lot if we get upset if the other one beats us or not," Nicole said. "The way I see it is that, obviously, we're teammates and we're sisters above that, and that's something to use to your advantage."

Take the last track season, for instance. Samantha kicked to a 800m outdoor state title and runner-up finishes in the 1,600m and 3,200m behind Natalie Cook. She extended her season well into June, culminating with a trip to Seattle for a 800m performance of 2:07.71 at Brooks PR.

Nicole watched from back at home in Flower Mound.

Nicole's season had followed a different narrative, one marked by a myriad of challenges, both physical and mental. She then threw her energy into supporting Samantha, even if that meant doing so from the sidelines rather than next to her on the start line.

Both say they understand how to provide TLC for each other in ways only they know will be most effective for the other half.

"We know each other so well. That's just a great thing," Nicole said. "Whenever something's wrong or something's happening, we definitely empathize for each other and want to do whatever we can to help the other person."

From a coaching standpoint, Flower Mound coach Andrew Cook recognizes this nuanced relationship. It's a fun bond to watch grow, he said. 

"It's awesome they have each other each and every day where they can work out with each other and push each other," Cook said.