ACTIVITY TRACKING


Strava taps into an innate human desire to compete


Strava society


Both riding on, and fuelling, the cycling boom, Strava has inspired people to get out on their bikes, trying to be King or Queen of the Mountain. Marketing manager Gareth Nettleton talks to Kath Hudson


What is Strava?


Strava is, at its heart, a global community of athletes. Through our mobile apps and website, we connect, motivate and inspire runners and cyclists throughout their experience, from exploration and adventure to training and competition. Designed by athletes, for athletes, Strava unites millions from around the world every day through the sports they love. Although we allow people to track their rides and runs,


we’re much more than a tracking app. Similarly, even though we connect people, we don’t call ourselves a social network. Members can make a ‘segment’, which is a designated


stretch of road – usually a hill climb – that they can compete on. People love to blast themselves over the segment. The fastest are named King of the Mountain (KOM) or Queen of the Mountain (QOM) for cycling. Runners are awarded a Course Record (CR). It taps into an innate human desire to compete: there are lots of bragging rights and desires to be that fastest person ever. It’s very competitive. Equally, the data and stats side is as important as the


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Nettleton: “Strava is much more than a tracking app” Read Health Club Management online at healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital


social and competitive side. Some of our members prefer to use Strava in one-player mode: they simply use the tool to get their own stats and track their progress over time. For them, beating their own time is just as motivating as competing with others. We often see this type of behaviour


May 2015 © Cybertrek 2015


PHOTO: JERED GRUBER


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