Music City Grand Prix -- Coming to Middle TN


-- For Immediate Release -- 

Announcing the upcoming Music City Grand Prix taking place this fall in conjunction with the Hoka One One Postal Nationals 5x3200m Competition. The Music City Grand Prix will consist of three different local events held at fast tracks in Nashville, that primarily consist of multiple High School Boys' and Girls' 3200m races on the track -- including a fun team competition. Middle School runners will have the option to run 1600m races at all events.

A Brief History of Hoka Postal Nationals - Why 2-miles (or 3200m)?

From 1957 through the 1970's at the end of the cross country season Track & Field News and the United States Track & Field Federation jointly held a nationwide competition.

At first teams would run 2 miles on the track and mail the results in (hence the name National Postals), but then in 1969 when the 3 miles was added, regional races were held, all of which are known as the National Postals races. Since cross country courses varied and since there was not going to be a single national meet, the times from the regional races were taken for ranking the competitors nationally.

To make the races fair in comparing times, the races were run on the track, but in a cross country type race. Teams of 5 runners were entered as well as individual entries. High school runners ran a 2 mile cross country event in those years. 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. 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.

Local participation in recent years has been well represented. In both 2016 and 2017, Brentwood XC Club won the High School Boys National Championship.with 9:18 (2016) and 9:33 (2017) 5-runner team averages, respectively. Both years, Brodey Hasty of Brentwood High School won the overall individual title with a time of 8:57.

What is the Music City Grand Prix?

The Music City Grand Prix is 3-event series that will kick-off with a Thursday Night Under the Lights Event #1 on August 16th at Brentwood Academy. This is a great way for both individuals and teams to get a fun jump start on the 2018 Cross Country season. All three events in the Music City Grand Prix will consist of multiple 3200m races seeded by on ability and each runner's best times or personally-requested seed time. Middle school races will kick-off the evening with 1600m races. This event is intended to allow for fun racing and to help the athletes race for PR's (Personal Records). The 2nd and 3rd Grand Prix events will occur after the Tennessee Cross Country State Championship meet on the 2nd and 3rd weekends of November (11/10 ands 11/17) at David Lipscomb and Brentwood Academy, respectively.

The meet on November 10th will be a Hoka One One Postal Nationals Featured event. These two final events are designed to be a great sharpening for the upcoming broader Regional 5k XC races such as Foot Locker South (Charlotte, NC) or the NXN Southeast Championship (Cary, NC). In addition, all 3 Grand Prix events on 8/16, 11/10 and 11/17 will feature 1600m middle school races. While we encourage all individuals who wish to participate to sign up, we are especially excited to have the five-person 5x3200m team competition, in keeping with the spirit of the Hoka One One High School 2-mile Postal Nationals Competition. Middle school entry is $15 per individual athlete. High school entries are $30 per individual athlete or $100 for same-gender teams of 5 runners from the same school.. High schools may enter several 5-runner teams.

What to expect?

  •  Fast tracks and fast times and personal record! Pacers will be on hand to ensure the best results for each race. Running an official Milesplit 2M/3200m PR's will earn special medals.

  • Our August 16th event is a great pre-season measuring stick for coaches and athletes prior to the start of the 5K cross country racing season. Our November races are great sharpening tools for the postseason Foot Locker or Nike Regional XC championships and the perfect opportunity to wrap up the cross country campaign with FAST ​PRs, while you're in your best shape.

  • Individual and Team awards - participants will receive medals for top-15 Individual performances for both boys and girls at each meet. In addition, the Top-3 Boys and Girls Team awards. As a Grand Prix, results from each race will be tallied and best average times for 2 of the 3 events will be calculated for the series. Those competing in all three events will receive special commemorative medals at the end of the series.

  • Coaches incentives - all coaches registering a team of at least 5 participants in Grand Prix events will receive an online coupon code for a FREE pair of Hoka One One shoes (up to $150 value) of their choice from the Hoka web-site catalog.

  • FUN! There will be Music and a Fun festival atmosphere. Parents and fans are encouraged to come down to the outer lanes of the track and cheer on their athletes.

  • Colorful Commemorative MUSIC CITY GRAND PRIX t-shirts and refreshments available for purchase at all 3 Grand Prix 5x3200m events.

    For more information or to register, contact meet director, Kevin Floyd, ​at (615) 512-0088 or by email at musiccityathletics@gmail.com