Heron Twins Running Their Own Races
September 26, 2024 | Cross Country, Track & Field
By Kaylin Vidal
Georgia Sports Communications
KC and Cole Heron shared a room for 17 years, so going to the same college was not exactly their original plan.
The Heron twins, now senior cross country and track distance runners at Georgia, grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta, where they attended Pope High School. The pair began cross country in ninth grade. KC wanted to run to stay in shape for basketball, while Cole wanted to have fun and make new friends. After the first week, they realized they were not only good at it, but they had fun doing it. Not long after, the Herons stopped the other sports they did for fun to focus on cross country.
"When you're good at something, you like to do it a lot more," KC said.
Cole said the "reality" that he could run in college set in around his third or fourth track season in high school. He'd seen his teammates graduating and going on to track programs, which he thought was cool.
KC started taking cross country seriously his sophomore year when older guys on the team would tell the twins that running collegiately was a serious possibility for both of them.
The twins had their own journey looking into colleges — they were set on splitting up.
"I had this thing," said Cole. "I like to call it the '3-A rule,' it's atmosphere, athletics and academics."
Athletics were very important to KC when looking at schools. He grew up wanting to go to a big football school like his dad, Todd, did.
The pair looked at in-state and out-of-state options, but it made sense for them to remain in Georgia because of scholarship opportunities.
"Money was not exactly an issue, but with two people at once it's different," KC said.
After visiting Athens, it checked all the boxes for each brother. The twins decided they wouldn't mind another four years together and both committed to Georgia.
KC and Cole feel that almost everything about being on a team together is a "double-edged sword." The brothers have been competing with each other since they started running and still are. In late August, at the Stan Sims Cross Country Opener meet at Kennesaw State, Cole finished 11th with a time of 19:52.31 and KC was less than two seconds back, placing 13th at 19:52.22.
"I feel like us being competitive makes us better for our team," KC said.
One thing the brothers agree they do not like about being teammates is being compared to each other.
"We are very similar when you look at us, but when it gets down to our mentality about things, or our deeper personalities, we're pretty different," Cole said.
Even though sometimes people compare them, lump them into a group, and get them confused, KC and Cole could not imagine being at different schools. Cole feels that without being teammates they wouldn't be as close. It feels like another best friend and roommate to him.
Some of their favorite memories at Georgia are with their teammates. They both will cherish memories of the people that they met and the simple times with them. Laughing together during team dinners. Celebrating the good days and being supportive on the bad.
Georgia Sports Communications
KC and Cole Heron shared a room for 17 years, so going to the same college was not exactly their original plan.
The Heron twins, now senior cross country and track distance runners at Georgia, grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta, where they attended Pope High School. The pair began cross country in ninth grade. KC wanted to run to stay in shape for basketball, while Cole wanted to have fun and make new friends. After the first week, they realized they were not only good at it, but they had fun doing it. Not long after, the Herons stopped the other sports they did for fun to focus on cross country.
"When you're good at something, you like to do it a lot more," KC said.
Cole said the "reality" that he could run in college set in around his third or fourth track season in high school. He'd seen his teammates graduating and going on to track programs, which he thought was cool.
KC started taking cross country seriously his sophomore year when older guys on the team would tell the twins that running collegiately was a serious possibility for both of them.
The twins had their own journey looking into colleges — they were set on splitting up.
"I had this thing," said Cole. "I like to call it the '3-A rule,' it's atmosphere, athletics and academics."
Athletics were very important to KC when looking at schools. He grew up wanting to go to a big football school like his dad, Todd, did.
The pair looked at in-state and out-of-state options, but it made sense for them to remain in Georgia because of scholarship opportunities.
"Money was not exactly an issue, but with two people at once it's different," KC said.
After visiting Athens, it checked all the boxes for each brother. The twins decided they wouldn't mind another four years together and both committed to Georgia.
KC and Cole feel that almost everything about being on a team together is a "double-edged sword." The brothers have been competing with each other since they started running and still are. In late August, at the Stan Sims Cross Country Opener meet at Kennesaw State, Cole finished 11th with a time of 19:52.31 and KC was less than two seconds back, placing 13th at 19:52.22.
"I feel like us being competitive makes us better for our team," KC said.
One thing the brothers agree they do not like about being teammates is being compared to each other.
"We are very similar when you look at us, but when it gets down to our mentality about things, or our deeper personalities, we're pretty different," Cole said.
Even though sometimes people compare them, lump them into a group, and get them confused, KC and Cole could not imagine being at different schools. Cole feels that without being teammates they wouldn't be as close. It feels like another best friend and roommate to him.
Some of their favorite memories at Georgia are with their teammates. They both will cherish memories of the people that they met and the simple times with them. Laughing together during team dinners. Celebrating the good days and being supportive on the bad.
Players Mentioned
Distance
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