I tried "Strava sniping" and I ended up trying to topple Usain Bolt's world record
"Strava sniping" is not a new concept, but I recently discovered it and it's pretty cool. Basically, it involves going for a run with the sole purpose of beating other people's personal bests (PBs) on the popular fitness app, Strava.
I love competition, even if it's a little petty, so I decided to give it a try. I fired up the app and started checking out the segment records near me. Look out, local legends, I'm coming for you!
In case you're not familiar, Strava is an amazing fitness app that lets you plan and track routes, and then share your progress with your friends. Segments are specific sections of roads, routes, or trails, and when you complete one, your time gets added to a leaderboard that everyone can see, unless you choose to keep it private. If you complete a segment the most times in the past 90 days, you become a Local Legend.
I'm not the best runner in the world, but I still wanted to beat some segment records. Most people stumble upon segments during their runs and then try to become the fastest on that section. It's kind of like capturing a gym in Pokémon Go - you stay on the leaderboard until someone knocks you off. I thought that if I focused all my energy on these shorter sections, I might have a shot at winning.
With only 30 minutes for Strava sniping during my lunch break, I narrowed down my search to segments that were 600m or less. I found a few options nearby, including "Hill Sprints," "Home Straight," and the intriguingly named "Fish Dash."
I jogged lightly to the start line of Fish Dash, a flat 210m stretch on a cycle path. Strava notified me that I was approaching the segment, so I took a moment to prepare myself and then sprinted off.
I haven't done a sprint like that in a while. Lately, I've been focusing on cutting down my 5K personal best time, so my runs are either long and slow or faster intervals of 400m or more. It reminded me how much I enjoy sprinting and the exhilaration that comes with it.
I stopped once I was sure I had finished the Fish Dash segment and caught my breath while bent over with my hands on my knees. When I finally looked up, I realized I was facing a massive fish statue. That explains the name!
Strava informed me that I completed the segment in a respectable 35 seconds. Unfortunately, this wasn't enough to crack the top 10 runners (they finished in 31 seconds or less), and nowhere near the top score of 13 seconds. I mean, Usain Bolt holds the 200m world record at 19.19 seconds, so it's highly unlikely that someone beat it by a whopping seven seconds on a random path in Bristol!
Longer segments on the map seemed more plausible, so I decided to try the 550m "Home Straight" next. The times to beat were 1 minute 26 seconds for the top spot and 1 minute 36 seconds for the top 10.
Excited about the prospect of making it onto the Strava leaderboard, I started off too fast. According to Strava, I completed the first 400m in 1 minute 10 seconds, but I couldn't keep up the pace and ended up crawling across the finish line in 1 minute 44 seconds. That put me in joint 59th place on the leaderboard. Well, at least I didn't make it onto the podium!
My little adventure with Strava sniping was a lot of fun, even if I didn't have much success. But I don't think I'll be doing it again anytime soon.
I'm a really competitive person, and the competitive atmosphere pushed me to give my best and improve my times. Brands like Ergatta and Peloton are doing an amazing job gamifying workouts with race formats and fitness tech like rowing machines. Peloton has become a streaming and data business as much as a hardware one. Strava sniping is a cheaper alternative that allows you to get those gamified fitness thrills without spending a fortune on fancy exercise equipment.
It's also a refreshing change from the usual "run X distance in X amount of time" approach. For me, trying something new adds excitement and keeps me motivated to stick to my exercise routine instead of lounging on the couch.
However, Strava sniping has its downsides. TechRadar's Fitness, Wellness, and Wearables Editor joined Strava and regretted it because every run felt like a race, and Strava sniping only amplifies that feeling. When you're constantly comparing yourself to others (especially those who are way faster), it can bring you down and distract you from focusing on your own personal progress.
Strava sniping can also mess up your running plans if you let it. "Base runs," which are moderate-distance runs at a relaxed pace, help increase your weekly mileage and improve your aerobic capacity. You can track your progress using the VO2 max metric on your smartwatch. I personally enjoy slow runs too, especially when paired with a podcast for a chill weekend workout.
But with Strava sniping in the picture, there's this nagging pressure to push myself and go faster. If I'm supposed to do a base run as part of my training plan, randomly speeding up is likely to mess up the intended benefits.
That's why, most of the time, I prefer leaving my phone in my pocket during runs. The best fitness trackers already display all the information I need. And if I happen to cover any segments, it'll be purely coincidental from now on.
I love competition, even if it's a little petty, so I decided to give it a try. I fired up the app and started checking out the segment records near me. Look out, local legends, I'm coming for you!
In case you're not familiar, Strava is an amazing fitness app that lets you plan and track routes, and then share your progress with your friends. Segments are specific sections of roads, routes, or trails, and when you complete one, your time gets added to a leaderboard that everyone can see, unless you choose to keep it private. If you complete a segment the most times in the past 90 days, you become a Local Legend.
I'm not the best runner in the world, but I still wanted to beat some segment records. Most people stumble upon segments during their runs and then try to become the fastest on that section. It's kind of like capturing a gym in Pokémon Go - you stay on the leaderboard until someone knocks you off. I thought that if I focused all my energy on these shorter sections, I might have a shot at winning.
With only 30 minutes for Strava sniping during my lunch break, I narrowed down my search to segments that were 600m or less. I found a few options nearby, including "Hill Sprints," "Home Straight," and the intriguingly named "Fish Dash."
I jogged lightly to the start line of Fish Dash, a flat 210m stretch on a cycle path. Strava notified me that I was approaching the segment, so I took a moment to prepare myself and then sprinted off.
I haven't done a sprint like that in a while. Lately, I've been focusing on cutting down my 5K personal best time, so my runs are either long and slow or faster intervals of 400m or more. It reminded me how much I enjoy sprinting and the exhilaration that comes with it.
I stopped once I was sure I had finished the Fish Dash segment and caught my breath while bent over with my hands on my knees. When I finally looked up, I realized I was facing a massive fish statue. That explains the name!
Strava informed me that I completed the segment in a respectable 35 seconds. Unfortunately, this wasn't enough to crack the top 10 runners (they finished in 31 seconds or less), and nowhere near the top score of 13 seconds. I mean, Usain Bolt holds the 200m world record at 19.19 seconds, so it's highly unlikely that someone beat it by a whopping seven seconds on a random path in Bristol!
Longer segments on the map seemed more plausible, so I decided to try the 550m "Home Straight" next. The times to beat were 1 minute 26 seconds for the top spot and 1 minute 36 seconds for the top 10.
Excited about the prospect of making it onto the Strava leaderboard, I started off too fast. According to Strava, I completed the first 400m in 1 minute 10 seconds, but I couldn't keep up the pace and ended up crawling across the finish line in 1 minute 44 seconds. That put me in joint 59th place on the leaderboard. Well, at least I didn't make it onto the podium!
My little adventure with Strava sniping was a lot of fun, even if I didn't have much success. But I don't think I'll be doing it again anytime soon.
I'm a really competitive person, and the competitive atmosphere pushed me to give my best and improve my times. Brands like Ergatta and Peloton are doing an amazing job gamifying workouts with race formats and fitness tech like rowing machines. Peloton has become a streaming and data business as much as a hardware one. Strava sniping is a cheaper alternative that allows you to get those gamified fitness thrills without spending a fortune on fancy exercise equipment.
It's also a refreshing change from the usual "run X distance in X amount of time" approach. For me, trying something new adds excitement and keeps me motivated to stick to my exercise routine instead of lounging on the couch.
However, Strava sniping has its downsides. TechRadar's Fitness, Wellness, and Wearables Editor joined Strava and regretted it because every run felt like a race, and Strava sniping only amplifies that feeling. When you're constantly comparing yourself to others (especially those who are way faster), it can bring you down and distract you from focusing on your own personal progress.
Strava sniping can also mess up your running plans if you let it. "Base runs," which are moderate-distance runs at a relaxed pace, help increase your weekly mileage and improve your aerobic capacity. You can track your progress using the VO2 max metric on your smartwatch. I personally enjoy slow runs too, especially when paired with a podcast for a chill weekend workout.
But with Strava sniping in the picture, there's this nagging pressure to push myself and go faster. If I'm supposed to do a base run as part of my training plan, randomly speeding up is likely to mess up the intended benefits.
That's why, most of the time, I prefer leaving my phone in my pocket during runs. The best fitness trackers already display all the information I need. And if I happen to cover any segments, it'll be purely coincidental from now on.