No, no I'm not talking about the Jelly of the Month club so hilariously referred to by cousin Eddie in the National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation movie, I'm talking about Stridebox.
In 2010 the monthly subscription box craze started with a small cosmetics company called Birchbox. The idea was simple, for a small monthly fee customers would receive a package with various assorted beauty products. The idea caught on quickly and today there's a wide variety of monthly box subscriptions to choose from beyond simple beauty products.
Even though running in and of itself is as simple as putting one foot in front of the other, there's still a lot of products out there other than running shoes to get your running fix with. Running is one of those sports that doesn't need to be complex, but could be if you wanted it to.
As you already know I'm not new to trying running related products. In roughly 12 years I've purchased over 35 pairs of running shoes, four iPods, five Garmin watches, enough food and hydration products to feed a small army and running related apparel for every occasion. I'm always willing to try something new.
So as a Christmas gift to myself last year I purchased a monthly box subscription to a running company called Stridebox. For $15 US you receive a box filled with running related products from relatively new companies focused on running, training and recovery. You aren't obligated at all and can cancel at anytime. At the time I also purchased a one-time holiday box from their competitor Runnerbox for $24.95 US. The reason that I opted to go with Stridebox was because of some negative reviews against Runnerbox, the fact that Stridebox offered a monthly versus bi-monthly subscription and pure cost.
I've been receiving them for three months now. I was disappointed with the one-time box that I received from Runnerbox, mainly because for almost $10 more I didn't feel like there were as many products in their box when compared to Stridebox's. So I was glad I choose wisely.
The box usually comes around mid-month. They're not quite as big as a shoe box and easily fit inside my mailbox. The box is blue with the Stridebox logo clearly visible and is sealed with a sticker that has an open ended inspiring quote. Points for presentation!
The box can be easily opened with a letter opener or pocket knife. Inside the products are wrapped in tissue paper, sometimes themed for the holidays in that month. Red for Christmas and green for St. Patrick's day. If you look at the pictures below you'll see all three month's boxes. There's quite a few things inside each box.
As you already know I'm not new to trying running related products. In roughly 12 years I've purchased over 35 pairs of running shoes, four iPods, five Garmin watches, enough food and hydration products to feed a small army and running related apparel for every occasion. I'm always willing to try something new.
So as a Christmas gift to myself last year I purchased a monthly box subscription to a running company called Stridebox. For $15 US you receive a box filled with running related products from relatively new companies focused on running, training and recovery. You aren't obligated at all and can cancel at anytime. At the time I also purchased a one-time holiday box from their competitor Runnerbox for $24.95 US. The reason that I opted to go with Stridebox was because of some negative reviews against Runnerbox, the fact that Stridebox offered a monthly versus bi-monthly subscription and pure cost.
I've been receiving them for three months now. I was disappointed with the one-time box that I received from Runnerbox, mainly because for almost $10 more I didn't feel like there were as many products in their box when compared to Stridebox's. So I was glad I choose wisely.
The box usually comes around mid-month. They're not quite as big as a shoe box and easily fit inside my mailbox. The box is blue with the Stridebox logo clearly visible and is sealed with a sticker that has an open ended inspiring quote. Points for presentation!
The box can be easily opened with a letter opener or pocket knife. Inside the products are wrapped in tissue paper, sometimes themed for the holidays in that month. Red for Christmas and green for St. Patrick's day. If you look at the pictures below you'll see all three month's boxes. There's quite a few things inside each box.
As per their advertising, typically the products were broken down into hydration, fuel, recovery, a wearable item and two fun running related stickers. In the first moth's box I loved the smart phone sensitive gloves and SPF chap-stick. The protein/caffeine shake mix was like smoking crack! In the second month's box I loved the shoelace strobes that flash on foot contact and the good tasting energy bars. The running log was useless because long ago I created my own through Microsoft Excel. In the third month's box I loved the stretching strap and instant ice packs. Not so crazy about the pure maple syrup fueling gel, yuck. I'm a motivational sticker guy, so the stickers in all three boxes were a huge hit! Included in each box is a listing of each product's information, price and how to buy instructions. I did some cursory checking and the prices are accurate.
After getting these for three months I can tell you that mid-month has become my favorite time. I eagerly await my box. I'm a total eco-friendly person and don't get paper bills and when's the last time you got an actual letter? So, it's nice to have a package in my mailbox for me that's not junk mail. I think that the value is decent. You definitely get your money's worth up to $15 and then a little more. I love to eat and there's a good variety of hydration, fuel and recovery food products. So far I've only received one repeat item and I liked it anyways, so no big deal. Don't expect anything earth shattering as far as clothing or gizmos. Although the gloves were decent and the shoelace strobes are my favorite item by far of all three months.
Sometimes as runners we become so focused on our goal pace, finish time, distance or race that we forget the fun side of our sport. Getting a monthly box of goodies is a nice reminder that all that hard work deserves a little reward. I'm not planning on stopping my subscription anytime soon! I like it so much that I've put in to be a Stridebox ambassador! Hopefully they'll pick me because I love getting their stuff!
My running is moving along at breakneck speed! My coach and me seem to gel so well it's uncanny! Last week I managed to run double digits for the first time in like forever. I'm having fun breaking all the new recruits that I can in the new academy. Although, it's sad they're breaking so quickly being more than 10 years younger than me! My mom got great news this week that her lung cancer hasn't spread to her lymph nodes! She's now faced with undergoing radiation and chemotherapy treatments. Today I reached my 49th day of non-stop running and ran my first race since last August! It wasn't my fastest but it was a great comeback race. A race report is forthcoming soon! Since today is the Saturday before St. Patrick's day I leave you with an Irish blessing:
If you're curious about other types of monthly subscription boxes that are available check out the following neat search engines:
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