I’ve noticed an increasing amount of chatter on the social channels from racers wondering how to use their existing Spartan race codes from cancelled races in 2020, so I thought I’d compile some tips, helpful info and resources into one spot for the community. While this post might not necessarily encompass every scenario, it should help with the pretty straightforward ones and hopefully help racers get registered without added frustration.
There are a handful of different kinds of race codes and scenarios that can apply, which also dictates whether or not you owe fees, what heat you can register for, and so forth.
Cancelled race, race codes:
If you registered for a race and then it was cancelled, you likely fall in this scenario. The Spartan race code you have should allow you to sign up for a new race in 2021 with no fees involved. The code should literally take every cent away and have you check out with a $0 total because when you signed up in 2020 you already paid the insurance and parking/bag check fees.
This should also allow you to register for the same exact heat in which you were previously registered. If it’s not, log in to your Spartan account and hit them up on live chat or email them. The response time may be 1-2 weeks right now because they’re slammed, but they’ll help you out. (Note: this is not applicable to those with season passes. It’s more for those that purchase race by race).
Where do you find said code? I found mine in my Chronotrack account (I registered for the races prior to Spartan unveiling race registrations on their own website). So, if you can’t find your codes, check your Chronotrack account under the coupons tab, scroll down to the event, and copy/paste the code on the left side into your race registration promos/coupons box.
Deferral (complimentary) codes:
These were Spartan race codes that Spartan generously gave out to racers when their races were cancelled. So for example, I had 4 races I was registered for. I have 4 “cancelled race” Spartan race codes and 4 complimentary “deferral codes” for a total of 8 codes.
The deferral codes, because they were complimentary, are only good for open heats and you will need to pay insurance/parking fees. If you want to race in age group or have an EQC and want to race elite, you need to first register for the morning open heat and then go back into your Spartan account and upgrade to the heat you really want to race in. (This is dependent upon availability in the other heats of course.)
This is a super simple process, and there will be an upgrade fee. I used these codes for myself already as well and it cost me like $5-10 to upgrade to age group. Once you’re registered for the morning heat, go into the events tab in your Spartan account and click on the race you’re upgrading. You’ll see three small dots to the right:
Once you click on the dots, a drop-down appears to upgrade:
Select the heat you want, go through the check-out process again, and pay the upgrade fee. Then both heats will show your start time as “pending.” (I don’t know why that is… another question for another day I suppose.)
Exact instructions on how to do this can be found on Spartan’s website here under the “Transfer yourself to a new race” section.
Where do you find said codes? These were emailed directly to you from Spartan shortly after the race you were registered for was cancelled.
Trifecta pass/combo pass:
This is applicable to trifecta and combo passes, such as the super/sprint weekend passes. If you were registered for a race from one of these passes already, you should just be able to use your code and sign up for a new race (of the same distance/heat). You already paid for the race and all the fees when you registered, so scenario 1 up above should apply.
If you had races left on a pass and you had not registered for a race yet, you will most likely still have to pay for insurance and parking fees (because you haven’t paid them yet). The rest should be taken care of because you essentially paid for the race when you bought the pass. You should have a code for each of the races on your pass that have not yet been used.
If you have trouble, reach out to Spartan Customer Support at us@spartan.com (Side note: I do not personally know if you also have to pay a deferral fee or not in this scenario because it didn’t apply to me personally).
Again, I personally found these codes in my Chronotrack account.
2020 Season Pass:
Your pass should automatically be good for 2021 as they were all extended for another year. You should be able to register like you would have last year. The only issue we’ve seen is that if you have an age group season pass but want to race elite here and there, you may have to reach out to them because the pass is not allowing that function this year (or at least Eddie’s didn’t). They simply provided him a new code for the year that would allow him to register for elite as well. (This is separate from the Elite Qualifying Code… you still need to qualify and earn that code separately to race elite!)
If you registered for races using a season pass, it’s my understanding that the insurance/parking fees were reimbursed last year for any races you were already registered for. This is because technically there is no race to “transfer” since you have one code you use for the entire year and you would have to repay the fees again when you register for 2021 races.
Volunteer Codes:
If you signed up using a volunteer race code, and are not having luck transferring to a new race, email Spartan at volunteer@spartan.com
Groupon Race Codes:
If you signed up using a Groupon and did not receive a code of any sort mentioned here, you may wish to reach out to Spartan directly to determine their stance on Groupon races. Typically, they are a use-it-or-lose-it and can’t be used beyond the specific race you purchased on Groupon. More information can be found here on the typical Groupon process.
Miscellaneous:
RACE CODES (cancelled, deferral, etc…) EXPIRE 7/1/2021. You do not have to race by this date. You just need to sign up by that date.
However, if you have other Spartan race codes that were given out as a courtesy but are attached to Spartan programs and not necessarily races, it’s my understanding that those have already expired.
Additional information on COVID-related Spartan race code expiration dates can be found here.
Please note: this post was written based upon my own personal experiences and the research I’ve done to date on the issue, and has not had any input from Spartan (nor did I reach out to ask them to review). If I missed something, something is inaccurate, or needs to be corrected–please let me know and I’ll fix it ASAP. I’m just trying to be as helpful as possible. 🙂
Happy Racing! -Bethany
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