Lauren Schassberger pondered the hypothetical situation.
The finish line in the 15th annual Beach to Beacon 10-kilometer road race is in sight, a mere sprint away, and she is matching strides with her sister, Molly.
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How will the end of their run to one of the most famed road races in New England go?
“I don’t know,” said Lauren, a Winslow native. “We’ve never been in that situation before.”
OK, but would there be any temptation to break away and finish ahead of her sibling?
“Maybe,” continued Lauren Schassberger. “Or maybe we’d just hold hands and cross the line together. I don’t know.”
Sisters Riley and Audrey Jones, also of Winslow, know exactly how that scenario would play out for them.
“Oh, I would try my hardest to beat her,” said Riley Jones, 18, with a laugh. “There is defintely a sister rivalry, but it’s nice to have it there. I love running with Audrey.”
The Beach to Beacon begins at 8 a.m. today.
Runners from across the state, region and beyond will depart near Crescent Beach State Partk in Cape Elizabeth and make their way to the finish at Portland Head Light.
The race attracts some of the top runners in the country, as well as in the world. The top male and female finishers will each earn $10,000.
The race also attracted two sets of sisters from Winslow High School — the Schassbergers and Joneses.
In each case, the older sister — Lauren and Riley — graduated last spring.
Molly Schassberger will be a senior at Winslow in the fall while Audrey Jones is entering her junior year.
The sets of sisters ran cross country and competed on the track and field team together at Winslow.
“She pushes me,” said Audrey, 16, of her sister. “There is that little sister competition and we do get competitive sometimes. I think both of us have the mindset that if we beat each other it will happen. You just try your hardest and go from there. But we love running together. We spend a lot of time together.”
The sibings said the Beach to Beacon provides another opportunity to run a race together, partcularly with the older ones heading off to college in the fall.
Riley Jones will attend St. Joseph’s College in Standish. She plans to run for the cross country team.
“It was cool to be able to run as a teammate with my sister,” Molly Schassberger said. “She is leaving this year for college so that will be tough. We love to go on runs together on weekends when we’re not in the seasons. The road races are as competitive for us because we can run together and talk together.”
Added Lauren Schassberger, who will attend Davidson (N.C.) College in the fall: “It’s going to be a lot of fun. It will be incredible to be a part of something that is so big.”
Riley Jones is running in her fourth Beach to Beacon. Audrey will compete in her third.
“I’m really excited about it,” Riley Jones said. “I just love this race.”
The Schassbergers and Joneses were among the 4,000 runners who were able to register online in mid-March. The online registration filled in five minutes.
“We just sat in front of our computer and got in that morning,” Lauren Schassberger said. “We got our bib numbers and were just really excited. We were lucky. We’re looking forward to racing it.”
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