Edwardo and Jorge Torres were 12-year-old junior-high school students in 1992 when they took their first run together with the Prospect Heights Running Club in suburban Chicago.

In the ensuing years, the identical twins and Boulder residents have never stopped running. Inexorably, fueled by talent and that mysterious drive that only a select few have, they gradually climbed the ranks of local, state, collegiate and national competition until they are now two of the best runners in the United States.

On Sunday in Edinburgh, Scotland, the Torres brothers will mark a new first in their running careers when they represent the United States at the 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. It is a race that brings together the world's best middle- and long-distance runners, from disciplines ranging from the mile to the marathon, in one difficult 12-kilometer race.

What makes the competition extra tough is that every country can field up to nine runners, unlike the Olympics, where three are allowed in each event. Both Torreses have competed in World Cross before, but never together.