Why Use Strava to Track Your Runs and Bike Rides?

Strava, whose official domain name is https://www.strava.com ↗, is an application designed to track sports activities while relying on a strong community aspect. It allows users not only to record their performances, but also to interact, encourage each other, and share their progress with other athletes.

With more than 100 million active users, Strava has become one of the largest sports platforms in the world. The most common activities on Strava are running, cycling, walking, and hiking, although many other sports are supported.

Strava is therefore more than just a tracking tool: it is a sports-focused social network, where interactions are built around shared activities, routes, challenges, and performance data.

Strava: performance tracking and community combined

One of Strava’s main strengths is its ability to combine two elements that are often separated:

accurate sports performance tracking
motivation driven by a community

Each recorded activity becomes a way to interact with others. Users can receive encouragement, comment on activities, and follow the progress of friends or inspiring athletes.

For many amateur athletes, this social dimension plays an important role in staying consistent with training, especially when training alone.

Key benefits of using Strava

A complete training history and activity log

Strava stores the full history of your activities. By comparing performances over several months or even years, it becomes possible to measure real progress.

Comparing yourself to your own past performances is often far more relevant than comparing yourself to others. Seeing improvements in distance, pace consistency, or recovery is a strong indicator of long-term progress.

Predicting race times

Strava can estimate race times for different distances (5K, 10K, half marathon, marathon). These predictions provide useful benchmarks and help athletes set realistic goals.

However, to properly interpret these estimates, it is essential to understand pace. This is where using a pace calculator alongside Strava becomes particularly useful, allowing athletes to refine their targets and better understand their data.

Personalized analysis and artificial intelligence

Strava now uses artificial intelligence to deliver personalized insights. Thanks to the massive amount of data collected from millions of users, the platform can offer advanced indicators related to training load, fitness, and fatigue.

That said, these metrics should be used as guidelines, not absolute truths. Every athlete is different, and personal sensations should always take priority over numbers.

Route creation and navigation

Strava allows users to create routes directly from the website or mobile app and download them to compatible GPS watches. This feature is especially popular among cyclists and runners looking to explore new paths.

It also helps with planning long runs or structured training sessions.

Segments and challenges

Segments are one of Strava’s most well-known features. They allow athletes to compare performances on specific sections with other users.

Challenges add a gamified layer to training and can encourage consistency. When approached with the right mindset, they help maintain motivation without adding unnecessary pressure.

How much does Strava cost?

Strava offers a free version that allows users to:

record activities
view basic statistics
interact with the community
appear on segment leaderboards

However, several advanced features are reserved for the paid subscription, including:

detailed performance analytics
in-depth training history
route creation and saving
long-term fitness tracking
access to certain challenges

Subscriptions are available monthly or annually. Full pricing details can be found on Strava’s official subscription page: https://www.strava.com/subscribe ↗

Comparing yourself to others: motivation or trap?

It’s important to be honest: Strava also encourages comparison. Leaderboards, segments, and visible performances can be motivating, but they can also be discouraging.

A few simple principles help avoid unhealthy usage:

avoid constant comparison with others
focus on personal progress
remember that every athlete has a different context

Excessive comparison can devalue some runners or cyclists and create unnecessary pressure. Strava should remain a tool for personal improvement, not a source of frustration.

Encouragement and positive behavior on Strava

Strava works best when users adopt a positive and supportive attitude. Encouraging others, recognizing effort rather than pure performance, and sharing activities without judgment help build a healthier community.

Athletes should not fear how their activities are perceived. Every workout matters, whether it is fast or slow, long or short.

Running too fast: a common mistake

One common side effect of Strava is the temptation to run too fast in order to display better statistics.

Sustainable progress requires proper pace management. Mixing easy runs, structured workouts, and higher-intensity sessions is essential to avoid injury and burnout.

👉 Using a pace calculator helps athletes understand the correct training speeds for their goals and avoid turning every workout into a race.

If an activity is not on Strava, does it still count?

A frequent question among users is: if an activity is not recorded on Strava, does it still matter?

The answer is obviously yes. Strava is a tool, not a purpose. A training session remains beneficial whether it is uploaded or not. Athletes should maintain a healthy distance from numbers and stay connected to their physical sensations.

Centralizing data across devices and brands

Another major advantage of Strava is data centralization. Even when switching watch brands or GPS devices, Strava allows athletes to keep a consistent training history.

This prevents the loss of years of data when changing ecosystems and makes long-term tracking much easier.

Strava and complementary tools

Strava provides a large amount of data, but interpreting it correctly is not always straightforward. This is why simple complementary tools can make a real difference.

For example, a pace calculator can:

convert total time into average pace
estimate race times for a given distance
help structure training sessions more effectively

👉 On our website, we offer a pace calculator designed to naturally complement Strava usage, without unnecessary complexity : https://bikusoft.com/pace-to-speed-calculator/

Conclusion

Strava has become a reference platform for tracking runs and bike rides. It combines accurate performance tracking, community motivation, and centralized training data.

When used thoughtfully and with perspective, it becomes a powerful ally for long-term progress. By combining Strava with simple tools such as a pace calculator, athletes can better understand their performances and train more intelligently.

Strava should support your sports practice, not create pressure. Used correctly, it helps athletes stay consistent, motivated, and focused on enjoying the process.