Strava is getting on my nerves

They could be biking. I've noticed some people that normally run, but occasionally bike, don't know you can/ don't know how to change the exercise type from running to biking.

Unfollow them or stop using Strava. Either way, problem solved.

Look at elapsed time not moving time.

Or maybe they've just got better over lockdown.

Several key insights:

Focus on yourself

Get a grip

Stop stalking people

Get out of the basement

dirtydeedsdonedirtcheap wrote:

The feed shows people from my club running ridiculous splits or extremely long runs, yet when it comes to parkrun or actual races; most of them can't even run a sub 21 5k.

Don't forget to look at actual elapsed time not the posted moving time.

Also any gps device is not that accurate when it comes to distance. It's overreporting.

Just don't worry about it. That's why we have real races.

Eat more veggies wrote:

...

Also any gps device is not that accurate when it comes to distance. It's overreporting.

Just don't worry about it. That's why we have real races.

We have real races? Where?

It's pretty easy to tell if they are on a bike (or in a car for part of it, tons of people get in their vehicle while auto-paused then drive away, only to realize the error later)

If either of those are the case, flag em. At least they will lose any segment rankings they managed to illegitimately acquire . The Crop function would also allow them to fix the car issue.

Yes. Strava is awful. Don’t take anything you see on it too seriously.

I’m not sure what you consider to be a long run or a fast split, so I can’t speak to that, but you are likely seeing why those people underperform at races.

Their training seems too fast because it is.

One thing that really seems to distinguish the top athletes is their ability to consistently perform well at races. Regardless of circumstances - they deliver.

Amateurs are notorious for always trying to train hard and don’t seem to recognize that what you can do on a good day when everything aligns really doesn’t translate well to racing.

Plus, Strava is setup to make your data look better. It keeps people coming back but it doesn’t build a useful picture of fitness.

the lyin king wrote:

Plus, Strava is setup to make your data look better. It keeps people coming back but it doesn’t build a useful picture of fitness.

What do you mean by this? Aside from people who can pause their watch and take a break and then hit it hard once they recover, what are some other ways?

+1. Great post.

Strava is awful. An app that makes a bunch of wanna be competitors feel good. Everything in the app is about one-upping others. In ways that are gotchya and sleuthy. For example, in the past, when two people raced a 5k, it was clear who was the winner. Now, wannabes are like: "you may have beaten me in a real race, but I am faster for this segment for my age group, and my gender and this humidity and elevation gain!" Once you add in qualifying statements, youre done. Plus, add in the usual vanity generating sentiments of other social media apps where you get likes and kudos, and strava becomes more about the optics, less about the sport.

+1. Great post.

Strava is awful. An app that makes a bunch of wanna be competitors feel good. Everything in the app is about one-upping others. In ways that are gotchya and sleuthy. For example, in the past, when two people raced a 5k, it was clear who was the winner. Now, wannabes are like: "you may have beaten me in a real race, but I am faster for this segment for my age group, and my gender and this humidity and elevation gain!" Once you add in qualifying statements, youre done. Plus, add in the usual vanity generating sentiments of other social media apps where you get likes and kudos, and strava becomes more about the optics, less about the sport.

If you want to go out and chase segment records because that is what gets you excited to go out for a run - great. That probably won't help you win a race but still fun for some people who will never get a chance to win a real race.

Strava is my current favorite social media app. You can use it how you want. You can chase your own PB's or a Strava segment or your longest run. It does all that while acting as your training log. And you get to see how your friends are killing some workouts as well. Great way to find someone who is running similar workouts to you as well.

Who cares? If you know racing is what’s important, why should Strava bother you?

Also has anyone actually heard someone brag about their strava stats in an over the top way? In person, I mean.

ExcelHSCoach wrote:

If you want to go out and chase segment records because that is what gets you excited to go out for a run - great. That probably won't help you win a race but still fun for some people who will never get a chance to win a real race.

Strava is my current favorite social media app. You can use it how you want. You can chase your own PB's or a Strava segment or your longest run. It does all that while acting as your training log. And you get to see how your friends are killing some workouts as well. Great way to find someone who is running similar workouts to you as well.

Exactly. Well said.

Of course it's funny watching people trying to put that down against the majesty of a "real" race! I mean, what are we talking here? Some dude who can win a local 5k vs some dude who's knocking off CRs on Strava to get his kicks. Both are a million miles off actually being really competitive, so what's the odds?

Like a 2000 rated chess player feeling some sense of achievement over a 1500 rated player. At the end of the day neither are ever really going to compete at the top level so it's a laughably false ego trip...

It's funny how in running you get criticized for training "too hard." Any other sport like that?

What is it about people running "fast" on runs that really bothers the running community? If you are so sure that running "fast" is going to be harmful to their racing than what should you care? Only going to be one less person for you to worry about on race day.

Or is the actual bothersome aspect that you just want to justify jogging as easily as you want most days and when you see someone who actually wants to get after it and get better it makes you look lazy so the natural tendency is to attack and ridicule....

Surprised that Strava spam bot hasn't found its way into this thread yet.

Dirk Digg wrote:

It's funny how in running you get criticized for training "too hard." Any other sport like that?

What is it about people running "fast" on runs that really bothers the running community? If you are so sure that running "fast" is going to be harmful to their racing than what should you care? Only going to be one less person for you to worry about on race day.

Or is the actual bothersome aspect that you just want to justify jogging as easily as you want most days and when you see someone who actually wants to get after it and get better it makes you look lazy so the natural tendency is to attack and ridicule....

I'm with you on this.

It is a very strange mentality people have with how other people train. These people really need to step back and look at themselves and ask why they even care what Joe/Sue Bloggs is doing on their runs. So what if a 25min 5K runner is running 30 mile long runs, and or every 3 mile run at 5k pace? Maybe they like doing that, its their f&cking hobby.

I treat Strava like a Playstation game, its fun for what it is. Plus I actually prefer their presentation over Garmin's for looking at stats.

What actually annoys me, and this isn't just limited to Strava, is all the faux politeness runners have and unwillingness to get competitive with each other or have a little smack talk. If someone does a shitty run i'll tell them, If someone beats my CR i'll have some fun, smack talk back to them and try and get it back. Its fun. I hate all this sanitised 'wow amazing run', on every damn post. No.1 reason why I like Letsrun over Runnersworld, if you criticise someone on there it's like your the reincarnation of Pol Pot or Hitler.

First of all they are not fast.

Secondly I see so much idiocy on strava. Not only will they remain at their plateau, but they are injuring their body / making themselves ill. What I see on there is not sustainable - it is merely about "showing off". It's one big circle jerk.

Strava should make the PR section bigger and more prominent on everyone's profile. It would shame the hobbyjoggers into slowing down.