How Do You Compare to Every Runner on Strava This Year? – Runner’s World
How Do You Compare to Every Runner on Strava This Year? Runner’s World
Whether it seemed to fly by or crawl along at a snail-like pace, with 2019 just about wrapped up, many runners are reflecting back on their year with a few questions:
- How well did I stick to my training plans?
- Did I reach my annual mileage goal?
- Was I doing enough cross-training?
If you’re curious about how other runners performed this year, Strava can shed some light on the subject. The app’s annual “Year in Sport” report is out—and we wanted to put the running-related data on display for your viewing pleasure.
While it’s important to note that these statistics reflect the trends of runners who logged their activity on Strava between October 1, 2018, through September of 2019, and not the running population in its entirety, there’s no denying that it’s a fascinating, informative snapshot of athletic activity—and a reflection of the dedicated training that was put in by users of the social fitness network worldwide.
On a global level, a grand total of 1.3 billion miles were logged, and 248.3 million of those miles were recorded in the U.S. The average distance per run for Americans was about four miles at a duration of 37:34.
So, how does your year of running compare to the trends of 2019? Here are some of the highlights:
Participation in Marathons and Ultras
Courtesy of Strava
As the popularity of endurance running continues to rise, it’s exciting to see the 8.8 percent (year-over-year) increase in the number of U.S. runners completing a marathon or ultra distance. Even more notable is the massive growth of this activity in Japan with its 23.2 percent boost year-over-year. France takes second place to Japan’s lead with 10.4 percent of its runners tackling the big distances. Globally, 7.1 percent of users logged marathons or ultramarathons this year.
As an interesting aside, Strava statistics show that 51 percent of ultrarunners have never uploaded a marathon on the site. Whether this indicates that these athletes go right into the ultras or simply didn’t bother logging races less than 50K is uncertain.
Weekday Group Run Start Times
Courtesy of Strava
The preference for running alone versus running with friends is a common topic of debate, but you can’t argue with the data: Strava users who had a habit of logging runs with others were more likely to maintain earlier morning workout routines—and upload more activities overall.
While most Strava runners were heading out the door around 6 a.m. for their morning miles, the ones seizing the day at 5 a.m. were typically running in a group (about 29 percent). Accountability and training partners surely provide extra motivation to commit to that early start time in the dark.
Multisport Runners
Courtesy of Strava
Since 2015, there has been a nearly 10 percent drop in users logging activities in just one sport. These findings suggest that fewer runners are remaining single-sport athletes—perhaps because more people are recognizing the usefulness of mixing things up for well-rounded training and less burnout. Yoga, weight training, and walking appeared to be some of the fastest growing activity types for runners.
Need another reason to ramp up your cross-training? Strava’s stats show that marathoners with improved PRs this year had increased their non-run activity by 13 percent.
World’s Hottest Gear
Beyond activity trends, Strava’s data also reveals the top gear picks among its users this year. For wearable tech, runners were strapping on the more than anything else. The was the second most preferred running watch, with the coming in third place.
And in the shoe department? Determined by comparing year-over-year growth, the five shoes that showed the fastest rise in popularity in 2019 were the Hoka One One Carbon X, followed by the Adidas Solar Glide, the New Balance Fresh Foam Beacon, the Adidas Solarboost, and Hoka One One Torrent.
Among the Strava-using participants at the Boston Marathon, the vast majority opted for Nike models. The Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4% was the most worn shoe for the 26.2-mile journey, while the next most popular choice was the Nike Pegasus. Many a racer also donned the Hoka One One Clifton, the Nike Zoom Fly, and the Saucony Kinvara.
The Bottom Line
Regardless of how your runs stacked up to the national and global averages, we applaud everyone who chased their goals in 2019. We can’t wait to see what runners do next year.
Contributing Writer Paige Triola is a freelance writer based in Boulder, Colorado, who covers a range of topics in the athletic and outdoor recreation sphere.