Two girls, who happened to be sisters, took part in the final race of the first Talbot Shuffle at Fridley Field in Hampton alongside their male counterparts.

“Are you going to tell them I beat them?” one of them asked after they had pulled away near the finish line, almost three kilometers after the start.

As for the Halls, senior Abby and sophomore Rebekah, the real competition will come during the high school cross country and track seasons. Suffice it to say, each of them appears to be in tip-top shape to carry on the family running tradition.

Brother Dale Hall, a 2024 graduate who won the state championships in the 800 and 1,600 meters while competing for Hampton, returned to his home track to help launch what organizers plan to be an annual event to encourage community support of Talbot runners and promote running in general as a lifelong endeavor.

Oh, and the Liberty University athlete actually took the lead in the opening race of the Shuffle, a 1,600-meter race for boys, followed by a race of the same distance for girls, and to cap off the evening, a mini-marathon of 3,200 meters.

The event was organized by Heather Dietz, head coach of the Hampton girls’ cross country and track and field teams, and Lisa Belch, Heather Bonnar, Lindsay Hall and Lisa Wukitch, mothers of Talbot runners.

And yes, Lindsay is the matriarch of the Hall streakers. Daughter Abby welcomed the shuffle as an opportunity to warm up before the start of the interscholastic cross-country program.

“I’m really excited about our season this year. We have a really good team,” she said. “Our goal is to do our best, but it would be great if we could finish third at the WPIALs.”

The Hampton girls finished fourth at the 2023 Western Pennsylvania Championship.

Meanwhile, the boys won their third straight WPIAL title and capped the season with a first-place finish in the state. Senior Chris Belch finished 11th in the final meet to help improve the Talbots’ team score.

He saw the Talbot Shuffle as a way to maintain momentum in long-distance running.

“It strengthens the team spirit and hopefully we get support from younger children as well,” he said, praising the activity as something that older people can also enjoy: “It’s definitely a lifestyle and everyone, regardless of age, should be involved.”

Dietz agreed.

“We’ve had 8-year-olds and 50-year-olds,” she said of the first-year shuffle participants. “Running is a lifelong thing, and that’s great. And that’s what’s encouraged here.”