Capitol Hill Competition Team Rules

Congressional Teams are only for the In-Person 10 Mile. There is no team competition in the 5K or in the Virtual Run.

Team Divisions

Congressional Teams will compete in three separate divisions — the House Division, the Senate Division and the Agency Division.

Team Composition

House teams may be created by Congressional Member Offices or Congressional Committees. Each 3-5 member team must include at least two employees from Congressional Member Office or the Congressional Committee that creates the team. Additional team members may be drawn from the House side of the Hill. No Agency employees are eligible to be on House teams.

Senate teams may be created by Senate Member Offices or Senate Committees. Each 3-5 member team must include at least two employees from Senate Office or Senate Committee that creates the team. Additional team members may be drawn from the Senate side of the Hill. No Agency employees are eligible to be on Senate teams.

The Agency Division teams may be created by Capitol Hill Agencies (i.e. Capitol Police, Congressional Budget Office, Sodexo, AOC, and Library of Congress) that serve both sides of the Hill. All Open Division team members must be employees of the same Agency that created the team.

Family members of Members of Congress are the only non-Hill employees allowed to be on Hill Teams. Everyone else must be currently employed on Capitol Hill. Interns are eligible.

Scoring

Each team division – House Teams, Senate Teams and Agency teams – will be scored separately (e.g., House team members will run against only other House team members.) Team scoring will be based on the sum of the order of finish times of the first three finishers on each team. In case of a tie, the team with the highest placing third place runner will break the tie. At least one male and one female must finish and be included in the team score. For example, if the team’s finisher order is Joe, Fred, John, Mary, and Steve, then the team’s score will be computed by adding Joe’s, Fred’s, and Mary’s times. Teams in each division will be ranked in ascending order of aggregate time (i.e., lowest combined time wins).

Warning: If any ineligible runner competes on a team, the entire team will be disqualified.

Team Competition Awards

Overall Team Awards: The top team in the House Division, the Senate Division and the Agency Division will receive an award.

Overall Individual Awards: The top male and female finisher in the House Division, the Senate Division and the Agency Division will receive an award.

Congressional Cup: The fastest team from among the House and Senate Teams will receive the Congressional Cup. Agency teams are not eligible for the Congressional Cup.

Team Captains

A Team Captain must be designated for each team and will be the primary point of contact for the team. The Team Captain is responsible for assembling and communicating with team members and ensuring that the individual entries and the team entry are completed on time. The Team Captain is also responsible for making necessary changes to the team, including substitutions. The Team Captain does not need to be competing in the race.

Team Entry Deadline

Registration for Congressional team entries will open on January 31, 2025. The deadline for Congressional team entries is 11:59 p.m. on February 28, 2025.

Team Entry Procedures

Team entry for the Capitol Hill Team Competition at the 2025 Credit Union Cherry Blossom opens on January 31, 2025, and closes on February 28, 2025. Click Here for details.