23 May 2026
Stride x Pokémon GO Run
Stride teamed up with Pokémon GO for a run where the goal was hatching eggs. Free coffee at Starbucks, Pikachu plushies, and a lot of first-time Pokémon trainers.
- Stride Home Club x Pokémon GO collab run on 23 May — starting and ending at Starbucks.
- Runners downloaded the app, got briefed on egg incubation, then ran 2km or 5km through Cubbon Park to hatch their Pokémon.
- Hatched egg = proof of run = entry into a lucky draw for Pikachu plushies.
- Four lucky draw winners + one Instagram story winner each took home a Pikachu plushie. Everyone got a free Starbucks beverage.
Saturday, 23 May. Starbucks. A bunch of runners who had no idea they were about to download a game, run through Cubbon Park chasing virtual eggs, and walk away with free coffee and (maybe) a Pikachu plushie.
That was Stride x Pokemon GO and it was exactly as chaotic as it sounds.
Runners gathered at Cubbon Park after the warm-up
The Brief
The run was a collab between Stride Home Club and the Pokemon GO team. Before anyone laced up, the Pokemon GO team took over and walked everyone through the game: specifically, how to incubate eggs.
The concept was simple. Open the app, receive an egg, and run to hatch it. The distance depended on the egg: 2km or 5km. The Pokemon that hatched at the end was your proof of completing the run.
For a lot of people in the room, this was their first time opening the app. The first few minutes were peak chaos. People asking each other "wait, where do I find the egg?" and "does walking count or do I have to actually run?"
(Running counts more. We checked.)
Into Cubbon Park
Post-brief, everyone headed to Cubbon Park to do the actual run. Two groups split off based on their egg: 2km runners and 5km runners. Off they went.
The vibe was different from a regular Stride run. Slower pace, more stopping, more looking at your phone, and genuinely more conversation. People who had never spoken before were comparing egg distances, showing each other their Pokedex, and hyping up every hatch like it was the World Marathon Majors.
"I came for the run. I stayed for the Pokemon. I'm downloading this game permanently."
- Naman Gupta
A lucky winner won a Pikachu plushie from the lucky draw
The Hatch
The moment an egg hatched, a Pokemon popped out. That was it: run complete, proof in hand. Everyone made their way back to Starbucks, phones out, showing off what they had hatched.
The range was everything from common Pidgeys to the rare finds that made people genuinely scream.
Once you showed your hatched Pokemon at Starbucks, your name went into the lucky draw.
Pikachu Plushies and Free Coffee
Picking up chits for the lucky draw
Four winners were picked from the lucky draw and each walked away with a Pokemon Pikachu plushie. But the fifth plushie? That one went to the runner whose story, reposted on Stride's Instagram, got the most likes.
Five Pikachu plushies up for grabs
And everyone, winners or not, got a free beverage from Starbucks to close out the morning.
"I hatched a Snorlax, lost the lucky draw, but got a free cold brew. Honestly? Win."
- Jeel Makwana, Stride regular
Post-run at Starbucks: cold brews, plushies, and zero regrets
Worth It?
New game. New people. Free coffee. A Pikachu plushie if the algorithm liked your story.
Yeah, it was worth it.
For more runs like this, follow Stride Run Club on Instagram. That is where all the good stuff drops first.
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