Considered to be one of the hardest races in the world Tor des Géants (TDG) is 330k (205 miles) long and has 24,000 meters (78,000) feet of climbing. The race starts and finishes in Courmayeur, Italy and has a cutoff of 150 hours. The race costs $800 so saving money on travel is huge for this race. The closest airports are (TRN) and Milan (MXP & LIN) with Milan generally having the better deals. Train journeys between Milan and Courmayeur cost between $50-100 round trip. There are no major hotel brands in Courmayeur so flights are where the focus should be. Turkish Airlines has an excellent award program and often has award availability on Star Alliance partner flights (United Airlines being helpful for us in this situation). Transferring points is possible from capital one rewards at a 1:1 ratio. Usually a round trip ticket between Europe and the US will cost about 60,000 miles through Turkish and with the current Capital One Venture welcome bonus of 75,000 points the flights could be booked for FREE!

Background: The Hawaii Spartan Race has three different distances: a 5k with 20 obstacles, a 10k with 25 obstacles, and a beast 21k with 30 obstacles. This follows the blueprint for races that Spartan has established across their brand. Spartan themselves bills this race as one of their most difficult and most visually stunning. The dates for the 2025 edition are August 16-17. The race is held on Oahu Island at Dillingham Ranch on the northwest side of the Island. The prices for races range between $70-$114 depending on the distance. Travel: Hawaii has historically been super expensive to travel to. However, Southwest Airlines has recently entered the market and is trying to gain a foothold. They are pushing prices lower to try and beat the competition. This development accompanied by the recent news that Hawaiian Airlines has just merged with Alaska Airlines has led to some of the best prices to Hawaii seen in years!! This could be an opportunity to purchase a flight in cash and use valuable points for lodging on the Island. Prices are below $450 round trip for flights from the east coast (IAD, RDU) to Honolulu (HNL) when normal cash price is close to $1,000. Hopefully we see this trend continue into next year. Lodging: If the points are used on lodging one of the best award programs is Hyatt. The Hyatt Place at Waikiki Beach is bookable for 18,000 points a night. This is steep but lodging is famously expensive in Hawaii. Considering the cash price is $308 PER NIGHT the value per point is solid. NOTE: value per point is something super important in travel hacking and a good value is 1 cent per point. To calculate the value of points we take the cash price and divide by the points. In this case $308/18,000 pts = .017 so 1.7 cents per points, a great value! This race would be perfect to incorporate other sightseeing on the Island. Pearl Harbor and The Dole Plantation are two of the most famous on Oahu. If you have any other questions or comments let me know down below!!

Background: The Cocodona 250 is one of the longest foot races in the world and has quickly become a premier trail race. It was started in 2021 and links some of the most iconic Arizona trail towns together in an unmatched point to point fashion. The 2025 edition will take place May 5-10th. This race is one of the most expensive ones in the US due to the complicated nature of organizing this race. The 2025 race sign up fee was $1,695. Travel: The closest airport to the start of the race is Phoenix (PHX). PHX is one of the best airports in the US, having a great reputation for their welcoming and helpful spirit. All the major US airlines fly here which creates competition therefore lowering prices. This also allows travelers to shop around different airline programs to find the best award deals. One of the sweet spots to take advantage of is using British Airways great redemption rates to book flights on American Airlines. Both Chase and Capital one can transfer miles to British Airways. British Airways uses a fixed award system based on miles traveled rather than a dynamic pricing model. So any flight in the US between 1,152-2,000 miles will cost 36,000 points round trip plus taxes. Charlotte, NC is 1769 miles from Phoenix so a round trip ticket will cost 36,000 points plus $11.20 in taxes. Considering that both Chase and Capital one have welcome bonuses or 60,000 and 75,000 points respectively this flight would only cost $11.20 out of pocket. Those remaining points could be used to book a hotel in Phoenix where nightly rates under 10,000 points are very common. If you have any questions or any comments in general let me know down below!

The Bighorn 50k is an incredibly scenic trail race in Wyoming that has been run since 1993. The 2025 dates are June 20-21. Registration opens 1/5/25. In 2024 there were 125 finishers. The closest airport is Sheridan (SHR) with Billings, MT (BIL) being a distant second. United Airlines flys into SHR and is a direct transfer partner with chase. In terms of hotels that can be paid with points IHG has Fairfield Inn & Suites and Marriott Bonvoy has Candlewood Suites. Both of those programs are chase transfer partners making these easy to book with points. The Bighorn races are only a four hour drive from Yellowstone and 5:30 to Grand Teton so this could be the perfect race to tag some national parks afterwards!