Strava Wankers

When I first started running I saw everyone seemed to be faster than me. I worked hard and got faster. I was motivated by the fact that everyone seemed to be able to run a sub 25 minute 5k.

I didn't know about Strava wankering then. I never paused my watch or stopped for a breather, because I thought I'd be cheating myself if I stopped.

Then I raced against some genuine Strava wankers, the ones on my feed who are always 'on fire', looking for kudos and being 'total machines'. I beat them, easily.

So I discovered that there is a massive difference between moving time and elapsed time

I now know it's fine to pause your watch, stop to catch your breath or have a sit down. That doesn't make you a Strava Wanker, but if you post PB after PB on your feed and describe yourself as 'On fire' I might just have a little look at your elapsed time and have a giggle at your wankery

My strava does odd things with elapsed time and moving times. Also if I walk (I don't do anything more exciting than walk!) with a friend and start and stop pur journeys at the same time they often show different times. Definitely no cheating going on as no point. So maybe sometimes it's just strava dicking around? Why did you go straight to people "cheating"

I often stop when on runs and my watch has automatic pause. I didn't realise I was annoying other runners with that. I also assumed that a lot of people stop at certain points. Apart from in races and parkrun etc don't most people stop at some point mid run? Whether that's to cross a road, take a drink, catch a breath etc.

Then again while I do post my runs on FB (I have a lot of runner friends) I don't gloat over my pace or time unless its an official parkrun or race and I feel I did particularly well so that has been a while. I usually just post things like I enjoyed that or found that difficult today etc.

I am connected to Strava, but I never go on it. Only really at the end of the year to see my yearly stats. People probably hate me for that too, that I never give kudos (I do like their running posts on FB though)

Why are you letting these people take up your head space & energy?

You do what you do, they do what they do. Running is fucking hard - anything that gets you through, I say. It doesn't take away what you're doing.

And far better than being sofa wankers.

annoy ‘the beeps of shame 😂🤣 Try cycling up a hill and having a runner go past 🙈😂 Depending on what you are recording with, you can likely define the speed it’ll auto pause at. Having said that there are places round me where the GPS drops out due to steep valley sides or tree cover 🙄

I hate auto pause as when I’m running or riding up a steep hill and going slowly it pauses! It’s very demoralising 😫

Coulddowithanap

I love a bit of car Strava! 😂

How does this work though? Strava times you from the beginning of your run, surely if you pause it and move it'll calculate the difference? If my phone dies and I get home and switch it back on, it calculates the total time from the start to the end. It also thinks I turned into a crow and flew in a straight line, more slowly than my walking pace would have been following the twists and turns while it was off. Is it really that easy?

Just to chime in that one thing I find fascinating on Strava is the global heat map- you can’t get it on the app afaik, you have to be on the website but it is really useful seeing where most people actually go. Especially handy if you’re out somewhere completely new.

Thankfully it's not recorded as my pb as that would be depressing

I don't really look at other people's times, more where they are running for local ideas/ routes
I mainly use Strava for personal goals

Not as bad as the digital doping that goes on with Zwift and Rouvy and the like. 80kg blokes pretending to be 50kg. I don't get it. You're just cheating yourself!

I use auto pause because I live in a scenic area and will always stop to take photos, drink in the view, blow my nose, tighten my laces, change my running track...whatever. I run for pleasure and fitness so I don’t go out there to do my pan in or compete with anyone else. I’m not interested in pitting myself against anyone else’s stats...I don’t follow other people, I don’t care how they compare. If I can see that I am making better times overall, I know I’m doing well and getting fitter.
That said, I have never posted my route, pace, stats on social media like some do. I’m not that way inclined. I can’t imagine anyone gives a shit about my run.

Yabu. Don’t take it so seriously.

I think you’re over-analysing OP - nobody is getting prize money based on their Strava runs! I get that it’s annoying when people deliberately lie in their comments a la Ross Barclay! Which was hilarious.

My elapsed time is often a little slower, particularly on long runs. I once lost a full 7 minutes trudging through the Greenwich Tunnel! I live in central London so have to stop for lights etc - it’s inevitable. I do sometimes mention it if the elapsed time is weirdly long but tbh I run 5 times p/week and can’t be arsed to justify my every move to a handful of followers who know how fast I run anyway!

Strava also doesn’t “give” you a PR unless it counts as a PR with your elapsed time - at least my set-up doesn’t?

The only cheating I do is when cycling. I do pause if I’m having a coffee break or once I went to work for an hour, paused when inside and then cycled back. It was purely for the distance rather than speed as 50 miles looks better than 2x 25 😂

I've forgotten to press stop at the end of my run before, then got in the car and drove home whilst setting a few PBs 😂 (had to go and edit my run otherwise there is no chance of me ever beating my times) I guess that might happen to other people too.

I can't get myself worked up over this, unless people are bragging about runs/rides they haven't really done.

IRL so many people stop/start runs -stopping for the loo, for water, for a gel or whatever, that it's not an issue.. until you then post something about your spectacular (fake) split times, at which point you're a knob.

The most famous example is obviously the footballer Ross Barkley, who claimed a 16 min 5k... with an elapsed time of over an hour. He'd been sprinting short sections and taking huge rests in between. Again, nothing wrong with that if he'd posted it without comment. A normal interval session, perhaps. But to claim it as a 5k is

Woah I didn’t know people would stop their Strava like that! Although I sometimes Jeff my runs so the walking is all just part of it.

Why do you care?! Block and move on.
Honestly the things people get wound up over

I really wouldn’t worry about it. My local mtb trails have Kom times that would mean riding it at approximately 70mph; ie 400 metre runs completed in 10 seconds or so.
Clearly nonsense. There are all sorts of ways you can manipulate the data too if you’re that much of a saddo

I only ever look at my segment times to compare to myself. Pretty useless for anything else these days imo.

Oh wow, I pause mine a lot as I'm just getting back into running and I have never of it as cheating. I mean anyone can click on the analysis and see the details, so I'm hardly hiding it.
For eg I ran 5k today but at the moment I can only run for 10 mins solidly at a time so I run for 10, walk for 3, until I reach 5k. I pause it because I want to see what my pace is when I'm just running.
If this is classed a cheating, fine by me

Surely it is up to them what they do. It isn't as if you need to validate your achievements by comparing yourself to them.

I'm quite new to Strava having taken up running almost two years ago. I love seeming where other people go and how fast they are but it would never occur to me to analyse their performance.

I thought you meant the Twitter account OP! If you don't know it, have a look.

But yes I know exactly what you mean. I have a couple on my Strava who bang on about getting a PR for 5k or whatever, but they've not tagged it as a race so it's measured on moving time only. It's like they think we're a bit thick

Not necessarily as egregious as some of these other examples but it's not really in the spirit of it if you haven't included the pauses at three sets of traffic lights. I think it's a bit of insecurity tbh.

Oh gosh, you're right!

Thanks to this thread I've found you can click through to another screen on Strava!