The parents at Strava get numerous knowledge on customers’ train habits and traits. Yearly, it compiles all that data, assesses and analyzes it, and releases its “12 months in Sport: Pattern Report” asserting the findings. This month, it launched the report for 2024. Lots of the findings caught us unexpectedly — and in a great way.
“This yr’s report underscores that health is turning into extra inclusive, social, and sustainable,” Brian Bell, VP, communications and social influence at Strava, advised GearJunkie.
To compile this report, Strava analyzed exercise knowledge from September 1, 2023, to August 30, 2024, for greater than 135 million folks throughout 190+ nations. It additionally pulled insights generated from a worldwide survey of 5,068 energetic folks each on and off Strava.
Listed below are a few of high-level highlights we took away from studying the report. If you wish to dive into the total report your self, you possibly can obtain the Pattern Report for the U.S. from Strava’s web site. The complete report is 25 pages, and it has much more data than you’ll discover right here. These are simply among the findings that caught out to us.
Let’s dive in.
Strava 12 months in Sport: Pattern Report 2024
Based on Bell, probably the most distinguished themes from 2024 had been the rise of social connection in health, the prioritization of “stability over burnout,” and higher participation.
“Persons are leaning into group actions, shorter exercises, and restoration as a part of a extra sustainable strategy to health,” Bell mentioned. “Persons are coming collectively on the platform to have a good time and obtain private health milestones.”
Working Membership Growth
Strava noticed a 59% enhance in operating golf equipment this yr and 18% extra runs logged by customers operating in teams of 10 or extra. Working golf equipment are blowing up proper now. It’s the fastest-growing sport on Strava — and one that individuals apparently love to do collectively.
Over half of those that responded to Strava’s survey mentioned they made new buddies by health teams. Strolling golf equipment are sizzling proper now, too. Strava reported a 54% development in strolling membership participation.
Total, evidently females are extra inclined to run in teams. And, surprisingly (or maybe not, contemplating the Strava consumer base), 4 occasions extra folks mentioned they wish to meet new folks by a health group, moderately than at a bar.
Apparently, this social facet of group health isn’t simply interesting to folks as a result of it’s enjoyable, both. Of those that responded to Strava’s survey, 34% mentioned that exercising in teams helps preserve them accountable to their coaching.
“This connectivity extends past the app,” Bell mentioned. “[It’s] facilitating real-world relationships and constructing a more healthy social ecosystem the place folks encourage one another to remain energetic.”
Stability Over Burnout
Whereas Strava typically appears to be filled with manics operating ultramarathons and pushing the boundaries of the human physique, extra persons are beginning to prioritize stability, in line with this yr’s Pattern Report.
Most survey respondents (57%) mentioned the perfect exercise is between 45 and 60 minutes. The median exercise length recorded on Strava in 2024 was 53 minutes.
“Persons are redefining what it means to be energetic,” Bell mentioned. “[They’re] prioritizing consistency, psychological well being, and significant connections over excessive coaching.
And examine this out: The median pace of runners on Strava in 2024 was a ten:15-minute mile. Contemplating that the common mile pace for runners within the U.S. is 9-10 minutes, that may be a pretty leisurely median tempo.
Rising group actions additionally play a task in higher resting intervals throughout exercises. Strava discovered that enormous group actions had thrice extra downtime than when customers had been exercising solo.
Regardless of the higher emphasis on relaxation and shorter exercises, Strava claims folks nonetheless hit their health targets in higher numbers than final yr. And 79% of customers hit their targets for 2024; particularly for runners, that quantity was 77%, and for cyclists, it was 72%.
Ladies Working Arduous
In 2024, there was an 11% enhance in feminine cyclists on Strava. Ladies had been additionally 20% extra more likely to earn a crown for “quickest time on a Strava Phase.”
Ladies are additionally taking to weights. Based on Strava, weight coaching was the fastest-growing sport amongst feminine customers, seeing a 25% rise in coaching session uploads.
The 12 months’s Biggest Gear
This being GearJunkie, we had been instantly eager about what sorts of drugs knowledge Strava was in a position to compile for 2024. We weren’t dissatisfied.
The highest three trainers of 2024 had been the Nike Pegasus, HOKA Clifton, and the Asics Gel Nimbus. The highest operating shoe particularly for a marathon? That will be the Nike Alphafly.
And 44% of marathon runners who uploaded did so with carbon-plated trainers — a 14% enhance from 2023.
The report additionally breaks down the highest bike manufacturers for street biking, gravel biking, and mountain biking. Specialised took high honors, after which Trek was quantity two for each gravel and mountain bikers. Street bikers, in contrast, most popular it the opposite approach round; Trek was the primary bike model, and Specialised adopted.
Garmin swept the highest two spots for the highest monitoring system for cyclists with its Edge 530 and Edge 830 watches. For runners, nonetheless, the highest two monitoring units had been the Apple Watch Collection and Apple Watch SE.
Numerous Strava customers (72%) merely use their telephones and the Strava app to add, as an alternative of a watch or bike laptop. The exception to that sample was within the context of races. Whether or not it was a 5K or a marathon, most customers left their telephones at dwelling once they’re in a race and add their outcomes with GPS watches as an alternative.
And in the event you’ve ever puzzled how many individuals put on jewellery once they work out, Strava has a solution for that, too. Based on its “12 months in Sport: Pattern Report,” 37% of Gen Z customers and 26% of Millennials surveyed reported they put on jewellery whereas figuring out. It’s a factor.
Creating Camaraderie & Competitors
Bell speculated that a number of components could possibly be driving the traits Strava noticed within the 2024 12 months in Sport: Pattern Report. Following the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the model seen a renewed emphasis on sustaining psychological well being and well-being. That will have in flip inspired a extra balanced strategy to health, he mentioned.
Gen Z additionally appears to be driving among the social traits, prioritizing group and connection over competitors, in line with Bell. Forty p.c of Gen Z Strava customers mentioned they wish to train with buddies extra typically in 2025, and over half of the Gen Z survey respondents mentioned that social connections had been the principle cause they joined a health group in 2024.
Lastly, Bell pointed to apps like Strava which might be encouraging folks to dwell extra energetic existence.
“Strava fosters operating communities by options like golf equipment, leaderboards, and exercise sharing, which create a way of camaraderie and wholesome competitors,” he mentioned. “We’ve seen the influence that Strava has on energetic folks globally who’re in search of methods to trace progress, join with others, and keep motivated.”
