You Can Now Participate in the Spartan Race Using Funds Allocated to You Through the FSA/HSA.
If you’ve ever been intimidated by the cost of registering for a Spartan Race or Tough Mudder , we have good news: you can now use funds from your Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA) to pay your registration fee. Spartan has partnered with Flex, a platform that enables HSA/FSA payments for fitness and wellness brands, to make this possible.
How to use funds from your FSA account to pay for a race
A quick refresher on how HSA and FSA accounts work: both accounts are funded pre-tax, meaning the money arrives before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) takes its cut. When you spend these funds on a qualifying purchase, you effectively receive a discount equal to your tax rate. For most people, this equates to a savings of 30 to 40 percent compared to paying out of pocket. So, registering for a $150 race might only cost you $90 to $105.
How to use your HSA/FSA account to register for a race
The process is simple: if you have an HSA or FSA debit card, payment is handled the same way as with any other payment method—you just select it at checkout. Register for a Spartan or Tough Mudder event and pay for your entry with your HSA or FSA card. Flex then handles the eligibility check on the backend, so you don’t need to do any extra work to prove your expenses qualify . (If you don’t have an FSA/HSA debit card or didn’t use one when registering, it’s unclear whether you’ll be able to claim reimbursement for expenses after registering through this partnership; I’ve reached out to Flex and Spartan for clarification.)
The partnership with Flex covers registration fees for Spartan events, including Tough Mudder races. And it may not end there—Spartan and Flex are reportedly exploring additional ways to expand HSA/FSA eligibility for things like training programs, recovery funds, and other athlete resources in the future. This would mean the entire journey from training to finish could eventually be (partially) funded by tax-deductible healthcare funds.
Result
Overall, this move is part of a growing trend in fitness and wellness brands’ approaches to affordability. Last month, the Equinox fitness chain announced a similar partnership with Flex , allowing HSA/FSA funds to be used to pay for certain memberships, personal training, rehabilitation services, and women’s health programs. The underlying logic is the same: physical activity is an important part of disease prevention, and your pre-tax medical savings should be used for this purpose.
If you have unused funds in your FSA account or haven’t yet put all your money into your HSA, signing up for a race is an unexpected but worthwhile way to use those funds.