Strava has become one of my most used apps for running and all around fitness. What is the Strava app? Why do runners love it? How can it help you with your running goals? Let’s dive into the answers to all of those questions and more.
What is the Strava App?
Think of Strava as a free complete online workout log of every activity you do as well as a social app. You can track and record all of your runs, cycling, yoga, strength, and Peloton workouts in one place, therefore, providing you with a plethora of data and an accurate record of your efforts.
You can upload photos, notes about a particular run and have accurate data on training cycles or race efforts. Or, just use it as a training log that you can refer back to and have information on specific runs or routes. You can also found local routes while traveling from the huge database of runs.
Most major smartwatches (Apple, Garmin, Polar) are compatible and will push your data straight to Strava so you have everything in one place. Apps like Peloton will also push all of your cycle, strength, yoga etc right there as well. That way, it’s easy to get a snapshot of your week. A great tool to analyze your overall fitness routine.
Most Useful Features of strava for Runners
Digital training log
Literally, keep track of everything you need to know about a particular run. Your pace, mile splits, elevation, route, etc. You will also see previous runs you did on the same segment and be able to instantly compare your results. Segment PR’s and “second fastest” attempts at a route are great bits of info to have.
Shoe tracking
Keep track of how many miles you have run with a particular pair of shoes. You will get a nice little reminder when it’s time to swap them out.
Set weekly, monthly, yearly mileage goals
Set weekly or yearly mileage goals and have a “running” tally of where you stand from week to week.
Get Social
Follow your fellow running friends and have a place to give them “kudos” on a run or workout. You can comment “nice job” or just follow along. Depending on your settings, you can find other runners in your neighborhood to run or connect with. There are also options to have all of your data private and skip this aspect altogether.
Join Run Clubs
There are tons of virtual clubs you can join to connect with other runners with similar interests. For example, New York Road Runners or Females over 40 to name a few. Some clubs have in-person get together in their communities to help people find running buddies.
Participate in monthly challenges
Every month there are free challenges to join. These are things like “10K in May” or “run 100KM” in one month. Many are also sponsored by companies like Lululemon that send you a discount code if you complete the challenge. It’s another way to motivate yourself to “run the extra mile”. You will receive digital rewards and badges as you complete them.
Segments
Strava will keep track of “segments” you run often and instantly compare your own efforts on previous runs. For example, “Main street to South Street” might be a fun stretch to do some Fartlek runs on. You will have data on just that segment to work on. Once you run a particular stretch a certain number of times, you may even become the “local legend”. Can you maintain your status?
Overall, Strava is a fantastic online training log for runners that analyzes and stores all of your running and fitness data in one place. There are so many features for runners who love data and it just might help you train smarter.
You may also like
How to pair Running with Peloton cycle and strength workouts
The Best Peloton Facebook Groups you want to be a part of
Thanks for helping to make the Runners’ Roundup a huge success by visiting all of the hosts: Laura, Me, Debbie, Jen, Lisa
I just joined Strava about a month ago because I joined a virtual running group. I like seeing other people’s workouts and it’s great fun to cheer each other on!
Although I have noticed that it is not as accurate as the Garmin (I use the free Strava version). Do you have that issue as well?
From what I understand, if you pause your watch while using Strava and then restart that is when you might have some differences. It should pull your data straight from Garmin or whatever watch you use for tracking.
I use Strava, but I only joined last year because it was how one of the virtual races I was doing was tracking results. I keep everything private and only follow a few people so I guess I really don’t use the social aspect of it. To me it seems similar to my Garmin app. I should really start looking into to some of the other features it offers!
I find it has a lot more features than my Garmin. I like that it stores all of my activity together. I use the log to write my weekly run down
I echo Catrina’s comment that Strava doesn’t seem as accurate as my Garmin, even when I upload data from Garmin. I have had fun with the app this past year tho–I’ve connected with several local runners who also run on my trails and we’ve shared segments and routes.
That is great that you have used it to connect with other local runners! I like that it stores all of my workouts in one easy place. I also like to compare my speed on certain segments.
I’m such a tech moron (no exaggeration LOL) that I really shy away from one more app to learn. That said, I have heard so much positive feedback about Strava…maybe I should give it a go. Want to fly out here some weekend, and give me a tutorial? 😉
That would be super fun but I think we could both fly somewhere fun to meet up! 🙂
I don’t use Strava, but it does sound fun (I want to be a local legend!). I’m still doing things the old-fashioned way, taking the data from my Garmin and writing it in my log. i have a feeling I’ll jump on the Strava bandwagon at some point though!
It is super easy and I love having everything in one place. Makes writing my weekly run down much easier
I am connected to the Strava app so my data from Garmin uploads but I don’t use all the features and I usually forget to go and check activity to give people kudos. I probably should try harder to utilize more features.
I like to have all of my workout info in one complete log. It’s a great way to stay on top of everything
I have a few apps my Garmin syncs with automatically (including Strava) — and I pretty much never look at them!
I’m glad that Strava works so well for you.
I find it is a great digital log of all of my workouts. Makes writing the weekly run down much easier!
I was hesitant at first but I really like being connected to Strava! It’s inspiring to see what my running friends are up to!
It is inspiring! I also love having all of my workout data in one place for an overview
So I love Strava, but I don’t use it as productively as I should. Since it just uploads automatically from my Garmin, I don’t think about uploading the photos or adding the notes and details. I think I could get so much more out of it, but I need to make the time to do so.
I don’t take advantage of every feature either but I do appreciate having all of my workout data in one place for reference.
I have a strava account and it auto syncs with my Garmin. The problem is that I only use my Garmin for some races.
I do think it is a useful app.
It does have a lot of great features
I use Strava but I never really understood segments or really anything beyond that it tracks my mileage and I get kudos 🙂 I need to dig in and figure these things out!
There are so many features that I don’t take enough advantage of. I especially like it for storing all of my workouts in one place
There is so much good stuff in Strava. I started to use it once I got a running watch, so I have almost all of my data. It’s a lot more user friendly than Runkeeper, which I had been using for. Aside from the pieces you mentioned – which I agree with – I love “competing” for local legend. A runner and I that I didn’t know kept stealing the title from me, and I’d steal it back and we eventually met up for a wave. Look forward to coffee in normal times. Had zero intention of meeting new people through it, but that was fun
I love the local legend as well and I get irked when someone steals it from me!
Strava is my favorite app. I use the shoe tracker, route planner, all of it! Back when I was in better shape, I liked to try to get the CR on a few segments.
It is a fun app with so many features to take advantage of