What is Strava?

Strava is a GPS-based social fitness app that tracks running, cycling, and other activities. Think of it as "social media for athletes"—you record your workouts, share them, and interact with a community of fellow runners.

Key Features

Activity Tracking

• 📍 GPS tracking via phone or watch
• 📊 Pace, distance, elevation, heart rate data
• 🗺️ Route mapping and analysis
• 📈 Training log and history

Social Features

• 👥 Follow friends and athletes
• 💪 Give and receive "Kudos" (likes)
• 💬 Comment on activities
• 🏆 Clubs and challenges

Segments

• 🏃 Predefined sections of roads/trails
• ⏱️ Your time is compared to others
• 👑 KOM/QOM (King/Queen of the Mountain) crowns
• 🥇 Personal records and local legends

The Strava Culture

"Strava or It Didn't Happen"

A running joke (pun intended) that if you don't upload your run to Strava, it doesn't count. Some runners are only half-joking.

The Kudos Economy

• Giving kudos is expected after someone completes a workout
• Not giving kudos can actually cause social friction
• Some runners openly admit to "kudos fishing"

Segment Hunting

Many runners specifically seek out segments to compete for:

• KOM/QOM - Fastest time ever
• Local Legend - Most efforts on a segment
• Top 10 - Bragging rights

Strava Etiquette

Do's

• ✅ Give kudos generously
• ✅ Write encouraging comments
• ✅ Respect privacy settings
• ✅ Be honest about activities (no e-bike records on cycling segments!)

Don'ts

• ❌ Leave GPS on during drives (fake mileage)
• ❌ Run in dangerous places for segments
• ❌ Stalk other runners' locations
• ❌ Brag excessively

Privacy Concerns

Strava has had issues with:

• 🏠 Revealing users' home addresses
• 🔒 Military base locations exposed
• 👤 Stalking incidents

Protect yourself:

• Use privacy zones around home/work
• Set activities to "followers only"
• Review what data you're sharing

Free vs Premium

Strava Lingo

• KOM/QOM - King/Queen of the Mountain (fastest on a segment)
• Kudos - Strava's version of "likes"
• Flyby - See who was near you during your activity
• Suffer Score - Strava's measure of workout difficulty
• Relative Effort - Heart rate-based training load
• Local Legend - Most attempts on a segment

Strava has gamified running in a way that makes some of us train harder—and occasionally make questionable decisions just to chase a segment crown.