Between the 1960s and the late 1980s, U.S. high school teams would run a 2-Mile on the track towards the end of cross country season. This included regional meets with numerous teams, local dual meets or just teams time trialing at their fittest. Schools would cumulate their top 5 fastest times from those competitions and “post” them via mail to Track and Field News. The magazine would compile the results and rank the top teams in the nation each year.

The HOKA Postal Nationals are bringing that tradition back with a series of affiliated events comprising races of 2-miles (or 3200m) on the track. Between August 20 and November 3, high school-aged teams will form clubs to compete in a local event with multiple teams or as an intrasquad event against teammates. Clubs will add up their top five times and “post” them via the Postal Nationals website and compare their team with the best in the nation.

From 1957 through the 1970s at the end of the cross country season Track & Field News and the United States Track & Field Federation jointly held a nationwide competition. Teams would run two miles on the track and mail in the results, hence the name National Postals. Since cross country courses varied and there was not going to be a single national meet, the races were run on the track, but with a cross country scoring format: teams of 5 runners were entered as well as individuals.

The 2-mile races for the National Postals were done from 1957 through 1982, and the 3-mile races for the National Postals were done from 1969 through 1978 (in 1979 and after, the Kinney and Footlocker National High School Cross Country Championships were instituted for the 3 mile races).

In 2014, HOKA ONE ONE and RunnerSpace breathed new life into the spirit of this competition with the HOKA ONE ONE Postal Nationals competition. Now, teams from across the nation can host their own 2-mile event during the cross country season, upload their results through the official website, and compare their times with squads from all over the country.

The revival of the Postal 2-Mile is a rekindling of the spirit of high school distance running, the reformatting of finding a true national champion and most importantly the rejuvenation of a team together. We are proud to continue the tradition as the Hoka One One Postal Nationals.