The Manifesto Episode 20: With Charlie Barkowski from Running With Miles

Last year year we launched a podcast network, adding the Manifesto hosted by Gideon the Free-quent Flyer to the Patreon Feed. In this episode Gideon sits down with Kelly de Schaun, Chief Executive Officer of the Galveston Park Board. Enjoy this special episode, and if you're interested in even more great podcast content, check us out on Patreon. Hello, and welcome to The Manifesto with Gideon, the Free-quent Flyer, on the Milenomics Podcast Network. I’m Gideon, the Free-quent Flyer, and I’m joined today from the Running with Miles blog, Charlie Barkowski. Charlie, welcome to the Manifesto. Plugs Blog: https://runningwithmiles.boardingarea.com/Twitter: @runwithmiles Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runningwithmiles/  [1:14] Background Were you a runner or a travel hacker first? Did one lead into the other?“6 solo marathons on 6 continents in under 5 days.” How is that physically/temporally/geographically/mentally possible? How’d you do it? [10:14] Running with Miles Blog When did the blog start? Has it always been on Boarding Area? What was the process of joining Boarding Area like?Did the blog start as a passion project, a side hustle, a full-time job?How long did it take before you earned enough to take it seriously? Did you ever get discouraged or was it a rocket ship from the start?Has the absence of running events affected your traffic/content/kind of visitors? [16:59] Living/Working in Greece When did you end up in Greece? Where in Greece? Was it always meant to be a permanent move?What has most surprised you about living abroad/living in Greece/living in the EU? What should people know if they want to move permanently/temporarily to the EU?Visas, health insurance (IM Global), retirement savings, schools?What kinds of pandemic restrictions has Greece gone through? How has the vaccine rollout been handled?How are you staying in shape, training, conditioning? Do you have a sense of when the first marathons will resume? Will you be ready? Any sense of whether your times will improve, get worse, stay roughly the same? [33:44] Travel hacking abroad You cover all the usual credit card deals — are you able to participate? Will credit card companies mail new cards internationally? Do you have a US address to receive new cards?Easier or harder to meet minimum spend requirements internationally?Do you take advantage of online MS opportunities (Serve loads, etc.)?Are there travel hacking opportunities that are only available internationally? Sweet spots for mileage runs, unusual award availability, etc? Bank accounts or credit cards only available overseas? Loyalty programs that require residency? [47:19] Quar Question of the Week When you’re outside the Unite