June Stridebox

Years ago, when I first got into scrapbooking, I found that "monthly kit clubs" were a cost efficient way of trying new products without having to shell out ridiculous amounts of money to commit to entire boxes of products that I wouldn't end up liking or using in the end. Recently I've been thinking how great it would be if something like this existed for runners?

Lets face it, each runner is different and running products are expensive. Sometimes products taste awful, or they cause blisters, or they make us sick, or it is just something we've heard about but don't want to make a commitment to because we are scared that they will taste awful, cause blisters, or make us sick.

That's why Stridebox was so enticing for me. Here was an opportunity to subscribe to a monthly box which would show up at my door choc-a-block full of products that I've wanted to try. I was a little nervous signing up because I tend to be so frugal... $15 seemed a lot of money to spend on 6-8 "samples" of products, but all fears went out the window when my first box arrived earlier this month.

For $15, I felt I definately got a good bang for the buck. When I first opened the box, I immediately recognized the Foot Rubz ball. I was too excited about getting this ball (which helps alleviate pain from swollen fascia) that I barely looked at the other products in the box. Immediately I had to take the ball out and start using it. It was like heaven and I am sure this ball will make it into my raceday bag and become a staple of my regimen.

The next thing I noticed was that there was a pair of lock laces. I had heard all about lock tight laces last month when I was buying new shoes and changing out laces, and I was eager to give these a try. I've only run about 5 miles with these new laces, and they did take a little adjusting to ensure that they weren't too tight, BUT I am so impressed, that I went to their website and (using a promo code provided to me through facebook) bought another few pair.

Seven, to be exact (Don't judge).

Those 2 products alone retail at $15 total. So you could say I got my money's worth.

Also included in the box was some scratch exercise hydration mix (which I didn't think was so good), a couple packages of pocket fuel almond butter with kick (which i haven't yet tried but am anxious to), a powerice frozen electrolyte bar (which I am hesitant to try because I am not so sure about how electrolytes being frozen would taste),  an Electro Delytes energy bar (which I am a little hesitant to try because bars might be a trigger for me... too much like candy?), and a package of Blue Steel Sports anti-chafe cream (which I haven't tried because I don't tend to chafe on shorter runs).

I'm really excited to see what comes in next months box. And I would say that so far it's well worth it.

None of the products will make me run faster, but they might motivate me to run more. And that might be motivation enough.

Disclaimer: Stridebox (or the manufacturers of the products partnered with Stridebox) did not provide me with any of these items, nor did they compensate me in any way for writing this review. The opinions contained within this post are entirely my own.