HOW-TO GUIDES

1. Open the Apply page from the site menu.
2. Fill in your contact details, your service or first-responder background and your fitness goals, then submit.
3. Watch your email. We review every application by hand; you will get an email when it is approved, or a link to add anything we still need.
4. An approval email includes an invitation code. You use it once, to create your portal account.

You are done when: You have an approval email with an invitation code, or a request for more information with a link to update your application.

If something goes wrong: No email after a week? Check your spam folder, then use the Contact page. A request for more information is not a denial: answer it through the link.

1. Create your account with the invitation code from your approval email.
2. Confirm your email address from the message Supabase sends you.
3. Complete the short setup screens: your profile and the start-line commitment.
4. You land on your dashboard. My Races & Codes is where your entries and codes will appear.

You are done when: You are signed in and your dashboard shows My Races & Codes.

If something goes wrong: The invitation code is refused: it may already have been used to create an account; try signing in or resetting your password. Still stuck: use Contact.

1. Open Races from the portal menu.
2. Search by name or place, and filter by distance, date, state and how entries are given out.
3. Use the map to see races near you; races without a map pin are still in the list.
4. Save a race to your wishlist to hear when entries open, or save a search to get a weekly summary of new matches.

You are done when: You can find races that fit you and know which ones you are watching.

If something goes wrong: A race says "Coming soon": entries are not open yet. Save it and you will be told when they open.

1. Open a race. Its page says whether it is first come, first served or a lottery.
2. First come, first served: request while entries remain; requests are handled in order.
3. Lottery: enter before the draw time shown on the race. The draw picks at random, not by who entered first.
4. Either way, your request and its status appear in My Races & Codes.

You are done when: You know how the race you want gives out entries and by when you need to act.

If something goes wrong: Entries are gone on a first-come race: save it to your wishlist in case entries are added or someone cancels.

1. Open the race and choose your distance.
2. Check the OWF service fee shown on the race (many races have none) before you request.
3. Press Request entry, or Enter lottery for a lottery race.
4. Follow the status in My Races & Codes: requested, selected, payment due (if the race has a fee), then your registration code.
5. An OWF entry is not yet a race registration: when your code arrives you still register with the race organizer (see Using Your Registration Code).

You are done when: Your request shows in My Races & Codes with its current status and the next thing for you to do.

If something goes wrong: A status you do not understand, or a deadline that looks wrong: open a help request from the race in My Races & Codes.

1. Open My Races & Codes and choose the race. Your code is shown there (and in the email we sent).
2. Open the organizer's registration page from the race and register as a participant, entering the code where it asks for a discount or registration code.
3. Registering with the organizer is what puts you on the start list. Holding an OWF code alone does not.
4. Come back and tell us where you stand: I registered, Not yet, Need help, or I can't attend.
5. Register before the organizer's own registration cutoff. If you cannot, tell us right away with Need help or I can't attend.

You are done when: You are registered with the organizer and you have told us so in My Races & Codes.

If something goes wrong: The code is refused by the organizer's site: choose Need help and say what the page showed. Do not keep retrying a code that fails.

1. The race page shows the OWF service fee for that race, if it has one. Fees are set per race.
2. If you are selected, My Races & Codes shows Payment due with the exact deadline for your entry.
3. Pay through the secure checkout link there before that deadline.
4. After payment your entry continues to the code step. Your registration with the organizer is a separate step.

You are done when: Your entry shows as paid and moves on to its code.

If something goes wrong: The deadline passed: the entry may be released to someone else. Contact us through a help request; staff decide each case.

1. After the draw time, the draw runs automatically.
2. You get an email and a portal notification with your result.
3. Selected: follow the next steps in My Races & Codes (a fee if the race has one, then your code).
4. Not selected: if the race has a waitlist you are placed on it, and you are told if an entry opens up for you.

You are done when: You know your result and your next step.

If something goes wrong: No result a day after the draw time: check My Races & Codes, then open a help request.

1. Your place is held once your Spartan entry is approved.
2. Spartan releases codes in batches, usually about two weeks before race day.
3. Your code appears in My Races & Codes, with an email, when it arrives. Then register with Spartan using it.

You are done when: You know your place is held and when to expect your code.

If something goes wrong: Less than ten days to race day and no code: open a help request from the race.

1. Open My Races & Codes and choose the race.
2. If you already have a code, choose I can't attend so staff know the code will not be used.
3. Otherwise use Cancel request.
4. Do it as early as you can: an early cancellation can pass the entry to another athlete.

You are done when: The race shows as cancelled (or "can't attend") in My Races & Codes.

If something goes wrong: Paid a service fee: cancelling does not by itself issue a refund. Staff review fee questions; open a help request.

1. After the race you get a short survey by email and in the portal.
2. Fill it in from the link or from My Races & Codes.
3. New entry requests wait until owed surveys are done.

You are done when: Your survey is submitted and new requests are open to you again.

If something goes wrong: The survey link does not open: sign in and open it from My Races & Codes.

1. You donate entries and give OWF a registration code (or codes) for them.
2. OWF lists the race; members request entries or enter a lottery under our rules.
3. Each selected member receives a code and registers on your own registration platform with it.
4. They appear in your normal participant list. You do not need a list of names from us.

You are done when: You know what OWF does and what lands on your side: ordinary registrations made with your code.

If something goes wrong: A member says the code was refused: check the code's remaining uses and expiry on your platform, then tell us.

1. On your registration platform, create a 100% discount (complimentary) code.
2. Set its number of uses to the number of entries you are donating, or create one single-use code per entry.
3. Limit it to the distances you are donating, and set its expiry to your registration close.
4. Send the code(s) to OWF with your registration cutoff date.

You are done when: OWF has a working code with the right number of uses and your registration cutoff.

If something goes wrong: Not sure how on your platform: send us the platform name and we will help.