HOKA ONE ONE Brings back the 2-Mile National Postal Competition! Here are the FAQs and how to sign up!

The Race Is Back On. 

The revival of the Postal 2-Mile is a revival of the spirit of high school distance running, the revival of finding a true national champion and most importantly the revival of a team together. We are proud to reintroduce the running world to the Hoka One One National High School 2-Mile Postal Competition. 

At its most basic level it is simply five runners, 2-Miles, and one team.  All across the nation cross-country teams will host and participate in numerous early season, mid-season and late season 2-mile events on the track.  Teams will form clubs from within there school, put seven runners on the line, race 2-miles together or against local teams or in a time-trial setting, then the top five runner’s times will be cumulated and then “Posted” online by the coach.  Back in the day, teams snail mailed them into Track and Field News before the top times were printed in the magazine.  The revival will utilize a complicated, yet cutting edge method called “posting your results online”.  We know, it’s crazy, but it just might work.  

Why are we doing this? 

The beginning and end of every cross-country season is the time to show that whole team is fit and ready run fast together.  The end of the season is the time when your team knows it has one more giant effort to give, to go to the brink of exhaustion and to perform together as a team. The postal 2-mile is your team’s chance to throw down one more time, while putting your team on the line against the whole country.  It’s also a great way to show how far everyone has come over the season if an early season postal nationals was run. 

Cross-country is a wonderful sport with unique distances, elevations, and conditions that make every meet different.  The current national championships are either tailored to individual efforts or exclusive to only a few teams.  The Hoka One One National High School 2-Mile Postal changes that…it’s for everyone and can be broken down by gender, state and level. 

There is beautiful simplicity in knowing that a team in Newport Beach, California can compete with a team in Newport, Rhode Island.  The track is the same length, the hills removed, and the only difference is pure performance.  From sea to sea and from north to south you will compete, compile results and compare performances. 

In the end, it’s still simple, five runners, 2-miles and after the dust has settled there will be one boy’s team and one girl’s team crowned as the National Champions of the Hoka One One National 2-Mile Postal Competition.

There are many ways to participate!  While most teams will participate through a casual time-trial type setup with only their own team or with a few other teams (perfect for a pre-season workout), there are also bigger affiliate and flagship events planned (Click here for more info on the larger events)! Rankings will update automatically for gender, state and level (IE Freshman, Sophomore and Varsity) all season long, so run a “postal” as often as you like over the season!

Quick steps to get started:

1. Go to the hokaoneonepostalnationals.com homepage

2. Sign into your RunnerSpace.com account via the “Login/Sighup” link in the brown RunnerSpace menubar at the top of the site

3. Find your team here http://www.hokaoneonepostalnationals.com/gprofile.php?do=title&title_id=842&mgroup_id=46034

4. From your team’s page click the “Add Results” link that is just under your team’s name.  

5. On the Add Results page, fill out the times, names, date etc and click submit (you can go back and edit these if needed)

6. Enter in more results as needed through the season.  Rankings will update automatically for gender, state and level (IE Freshman, Sophomore and Varsity).

FAQs:

1. What is the Hoka One One National 2-Mile Postal Competition? 

Way back in the day between the 1960s and the 1980s, U.S. high school teams would run a 2-Mile on the track towards the end of cross-country season. This included unofficial regional meets hosting numerous teams, teams running solo or just competing against a local rival. Teams then cumulate their top 5 fastest times from those competitions and “post” them to Track and Field News.  The magazine would compile the results and rank the top teams in the nation each year.  It was a very big deal and it was a great way to find out who is the best of the best each year. 

The Hoka One One National 2-Mile Postal Competition is bringing that tradition back with a series of affiliated and Flagship events comprising of 2 Miles (or 3200m) on the track.  Between August 15th and December 15th high school age teams will form clubs to compete in either a local event or Hoka One One Flagship event.  Clubs will add up their top-five times and “post” them via the Postal website and compare their team with the best in the nation. 

2. Who can compete in the Hoka One One National 2-Mile Postal Competition

Anyone that is eligible to compete for his or her high school team is eligible to run a postal.  The team competition requires a minimum of 5 athletes, but individuals are eligible to participate and will be included in the final individual “Postal” results. 

3. How does a team get registered? 

In order to register one must form a club by choosing a team name.  For example utilizing your schools mascot and adding _____ XC Club is allowable or really any creative way you want to name it.  However, you may not use the initials HS, High School, School, or Academy in the Club name.  This unsanctioned model is the same format utilized by New Balance National and Nike Cross Nationals. 

A coach, club chaperone may register your team at www.hokaoneonepostalnationals.com 

4. How do we upload affiliate event results? 

Return to www.hokaoneonepostalnationals.com and follow results “Posting” instructions. 

5. When can we view results, when are the national champions crowned and what do we get?  (Excellent questions you inquisitive little rock stars)  

Results will be updated every day through out the Postal window and can be viewed until your computer or internet making device of choice runs out of power.   

Hoka One One Postal National Champions will be crowned after the closing of the “Postal” window on December 15th.  Once announced they will receive a visit from and “crowned” by Olympic Silver Medalist and Hoka One One athlete Leo Manzano.  

6. What is the difference between a Postal Flagship Event and a Postal Affiliate Event? 

The four Flagship Postal events will be held in New Jersey, Austin,Texas, Northern California and Southern California. Teams will be invited as well as allowed to register for the Flagship postal events.  

Affiliate events will take place all over the country from August 15th to December 15th.  Coaches, Clubs, and schools will register at www.hokaoneonepostalnationals.com to host an Affiliate Postal Event in their region.  Teams can also keep it simple and run the event in a time-trial setting and post the results on the site afterwards.  

7. Are individuals allowed to run?

Yes we allow individuals to participate at both affiliate and Flagship events.  Your result will be uploaded by the meet host and listed on the overall results for that event. 

As an individual you do not need to register as a club, instead you will participate as “unattached.”