January 2016 RunnerBox Review

There are lots of subscription boxes out there, but not many focused on athletes.  Enter:  RunnerBox!  (The company also has CycleBox and TriBox for cyclists and triathletes.)  Every two months for $20 plus shipping the company will send you a box of different products focused on your sport of choice.  Like other subscription boxes, they send you a mix of new and familiar products and usually they will also throw in a RunnerBox branded item.  (In the past I've gotten a star shaped plastic massager, lip balm, a neck gaiter, and a small workout towel.)  They also offer limited edition boxes for birthdays, holidays and for the upcoming race season.  I've been a subscriber for a little over a year now, and have had some great boxes.  One just ended up being a lifesaver because it had my favorite early morning pre-run snack (a honey stinger waffle) when I thought I was completely out of them!!

From November 2015

From November 2014

From May 2014

From January 2014 (My first box.  It was definitely a good start to the subscription!)

This is what I received in my January box just before Snowzilla hit.

When you first open the box, this is what you see.  The underside of the lid of every box has a different motivational quote.

When you open the tissue paper there is a card explaining each product along with where to buy it and the MSRP.  (The total value of this box was $31.50.)

Under the card there are all kinds of goodies!!

This box had Driv (a electrolyte supplement), Purely Elizabeth oatmeal (in cranberry pecan), Crispy Green's Crispy Fruit (freeze dried pears), Gnarly Whey (a protein supplement), Gnarly Hydrate (a hydration supplement), Peak Energy Mints (caffeinated mints with D-Ribose and B-Vitamins), Chuao (chocolate!), Clif Organic Energy Food (fuel that's made out of fruit), Detour Simple (protein bar), Garuka bar (an on the go snack bar), a RunnerBox embroidered fleece headband (always useful on cold runs!) and HEX Performance (a laundry detergent for athletic wear.)

I've tried chuao's chocolate before--it was great and for it to be combined with gingerbread?  Even better!  And I can always use a new fleece headband for cold weather runs.  (Errand running.  I'm a wimp when it comes to the cold!)

The pears were awesome.  Definitely an odd texture since it's freeze dried but a nice alternative to dried fruit with all that added sugar!  I haven't tried the Clif Organic Energy Food yet, but it's three of my favorite things so how could it be bad?

I'm actually trying to cut back on caffeine so I'm not sure if I'll use the mints.  (Each one has 100mg of caffeine, which is similar to a single cup of coffee.)  I'll probably use the laundry detergent, since it's supposed to be good for athletic wear.

I had to laugh when I pulled out the driv packets.  The little white piece of paper warns that the powder fizzes so you want to leave space at the top of your water bottle to allow plenty of space for fizzing.  I'm excited to try the Gnarley whey protein supplement since this is the first one I'll ever try that didn't require milk.  (This one asks to be mixed with water.)  The gnarly hydration supplement I'm planning on saving for later in my race training since it includes salt, which will be an easy way to replace it after a long, hot training run.

I'm also excited to try this oatmeal one morning for breakfast.  Most oatmeals are totally loaded with unnecessary sugars, so normally I avoid buying it.  One serving has only 20g of carbohydrates, where others have almost twice that (even Special K's oatmeal cups!)

So I forgot to take a closeup picture of the detour bar and the garukabar...oops.  The detour bar was delicious! The flavor was salted caramel cookie dough, and the caramel on top was nice and soft and the cookie dough portion was chewy like a lot of protein bars, but had a little bit of a crunch. I'm definitely curious about the garukabar.  It's a combination of cereal, nuts and berries and the proceeds from the sale of the bar go towards gorilla conservation. 

Overall, this was a pretty good Runnerbox!  Usually at least a couple items are hit or miss, but I found this one to be a little better than others.  It was a good mix of new and somewhat familiar items that weren't too far out of my comfort zone.