In mid-2009, a new accessory by Nathan – Human Propulsion Laboratories joined my family of gear. The L.E.D. Safety Strobe was a required accessory for all runners participating in the Blue Ridge Relay which was my influenced introduction. Though I’ve always turned a blind eye to “safety” accessories, later in life and since having a family care-free attitude toward danger has changed. Of course, I wanted to run the race where these “flashing lights” were required as well.

The story starts another year before last. I was running with two friends while marathon training. We met quite early in the morning before work to get in a weekly long run. This particular morning one of the guys, a local running store owner, was sporting a flashing strobe. I remember wondering why since we were running on sidewalks usually. Only three miles in to our run, a car blew through a stop light (right turning without looking) and nearly clipped me. Really it was a close one. The reason I wasn’t hit was they stopped in time. The first thing my friend said was, “good thing this flasher caught their attention”. I thought, “yeah, good thing” and while a little shook up by this near miss, we went on to finish the run.

A full year passes since this incident and now I find myself in need of a good safety strobe for this 210 mile mountain relay deal. Luckily I found the L.E.D. Safety Strobe product by Nathan. It was the perfect size while most other strobes seemed to focus on cyclists, this one appeared to be angled toward runners. The best part about the product was that it clips onto a belt or waist band. Since I already typically wear a SPI-belt when running these babies would blend in perfect with my existing gear. What a deal.

Now let’s get down to the facts. A safety flashing light is a safety flashing light or is it. Not to me. These L.E.D.s by Nathan are both functional and cool (a necessity for us “too-cool” for safety runners). The cool factor for this product is two fold. First, as I mentioned they clip onto existing gear. Second, they have multiple strobe modes. Depending on your mood for the run you can choose between four different flash patterns. If these two fun-factors don’t do it for you – just think, these could save you from a non-attentive driver making a beeline for your knees.

Whether you are required to wear a safety strobe for an upcoming ultra or multi-day relay event, I recommend Nathan as your product of choice. Not all strobes were created equal. Be cool and be safe.