Strava Wankers

[KateBlush]

Posting this gripe here because I'm not confrontational enough to call it out IRL. Strava cheats! You know the sorts: massive discrepancy between their moving and elapsed time; much slower segment paces than for their overall run. Always accompanied by self-congratulatory run descriptions 'I was really zooming today!' and back-slapping comments.

No you weren't 'on fire'. You actually spent 50 mins completing your 25 minute run by stopping every few mins and pausing your watch. Does my head in. I have a good handful on my feed. Great that people are getting out to run - at any pace - but don't misrepresent, especially when it's so blinking obvious you're cheating about your speed. (They must think I'm really mean for never returning kudos). Anyhow, feel better for getting that out there. As you were X

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.

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

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.

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 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?

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.

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!

@fellrunner85

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

I'm in a running club which did a "Ross Barkley" - you had 2 hours to do your fastest 5 k I timed myself running down a hill, paused, walked back up, ran down repeat - 5k in 23 mins - a time I'm never likely to achieve any other way

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

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.

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?

Coulddowithanap

I love a bit of car Strava! 😂

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

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 🙄

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.

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)

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"

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