Strava is currently one of the most popular running apps. If your workout is not on Strava, it's like it's never happened. Strava offers several opportunities to virtually race or compete in challenges for athletes from all over the world. Sometimes you can even win something, or at least get a discount on products from business partners. Strava is free in the basic version, but some features are only available in the paid versions.
Segments. Segments are a good motivation, but be careful not to let them become an obsession. They can be marked by a regular Strava user to create an open, long-term competition for all other users. Segments are, of course, tied to a specific location and section, but some of them have become legendary and segment hunters don't hesitate to travel in order to get the crown and be the number one in the ranking.
You can see the segments you ran through in your activity overview. At the same time, you can immediately see how your current performance compares to others, or to your previous attempts at the segment. For the segments, you can set personal goals where you can set a time you want to get to and a deadline by which you intend to do so. And then all you have to do is post it on social media, whether it's a public commitment that your buddies will buy you a beer for or, conversely, nudge you until you meet it.
You can compare your performance on a segment within different categories, for example by gender, age or weight group, within your circle of friends or clubs. You can also view the best performances over the entire history of the segment or even just the current year. And if you've run the segment more than once, you can look at a clear graph of each attempt to assess when you've run well on a given segment and when you gave a weaker performance. You can also easily use the segments as a test section to regularly check your current form and its development over time. Strava can alert you at the start and end of the segment during your workout, and it won't forget to throw in a motivational figure about what your current best time is, or that the current segment record is held by one of your friends. With just a touch of competitiveness, that beep from your watch or phone can get you going. And it can also be a dangerous obsession that turns every workout into a bit of a race.
Challenges. Strava can offer you shorter and longer challenges across a wide range of activities. Some of the challenges are directly part of the app, and some are set up by partners and are essentially promotions, often linked to earning a virtual badge and a discount on a purchase, being entered into a prize draw or even the chance to buy a limited edition. It's easy to choose which challenge to join, and you can choose, for example, by sport or whether it measures distance, duration of activity or number of activities over a given period. If you join a challenge, you can keep track of your progress while comparing yourself to others.
Personal goals. You can set weekly and yearly goals for each sport. Goals can be either time spent on a given activity or number of kilometres. You can then see the progress of your weekly and annual goals in the basic overview, and their completion is shown to others as a note next to your activity. Even a little thing like that can be quite motivating. Especially before the end of the year, when you see that there is little time left to meet the goal, you can get a grip and make up those few (hundred) kilometres, whatever the reason for bragging on the Facebook, right?
Virtual races. Strava is again doing virtual races in cooperation with partners. You can find them in the same section as the challenges, and you can usually tell that it's a virtual race by the name and the fact that you need to register. Registering will usually take you to the race site where you'll find out the terms and conditions, prize and any rewards for registering and completing the race. Prices aren't exactly low, and for example, you'll pay $100 for the New York City virtual half marathon. But there are also virtual races where registration is free or for a voluntary donation to a charity.
If you register and pay the entry fee, just run the half marathon on your favourite course within the given time period and save the record on Strava. You need to mark the entry as a "race" and it will be added to the official standings. Some races won't allow you to include an activity you ran on the treadmill or a record you created manually. There aren't many virtual races on offer, but it's worth keeping an eye on them because sometimes you can get not only a good experience, but also interesting prizes, discounts or donations to a good project.
Clubs. While challenges and virtual races can only be created by partners and Strava itself, anyone can create a club. The founder can then set whether the club is open to everyone or invite-only. Open clubs can be joined by anyone, while private clubs can only be joined by people with an invitation or those who request to join and are confirmed by an admin. The club then runs a running spreadsheet which compares the stats for the current week and also the top three positions for the previous week. The attributes tracked can be set in the club administration and usually include distance, time spent in activity, metres climbed or longest activity. For the current week, you can see your current position in the rankings right at a glance.
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