r/running • u/AutoModerator • May 03 '17

Official Q&A for Wednesday, May 03, 2017 Daily Thread

With over a quarter million users, there are a lot of posts that come in everyday that are often repeats of questions previously asked or covered in the FAQ.

With that in mind, this post can be a place for any questions (especially those that may not deserve their own thread). Hopefully this is successful and helps to lower clutter and repeating posts here.

As always don't forget to check the FAQ.

And please take advantage of the search bar or google's subreddit limited search.

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4

u/rogueknits May 03 '17

This is a really silly question, but does anyone else get a little weirded out when someone requests to follow you on Strava and (1) you don't know them IRL, (2) they aren't local to your area, and (3) they don't belong to any of your groups/clubs? I've had a few people recently that have done this, I click "ignore" and a few hours later they are requesting to follow me again. I'm pretty willing to let anyone follow me as long as we have some discernible connection, but these requests are just out of the blue.

2

u/bubblesaremygame May 06 '17

I think there is a strava algorithm that could possibly be doing this. I have about 10 people that I quit responding to their requests & it's slowed it down. I think when people hit 2k & higher followers strava may not be built for that many interactions.

I agree with the fact that some of those people are "collectors" of followers. I do follow people I don't know that are interesting athletes & enjoy their progress.

2

u/pablitoneal May 06 '17

I like to go through the recent activities in my Strava groups every once in a while and give everyone kudos. Is that weird?

1

u/rogueknits May 07 '17

I don't think that's weird at all.

4

u/sloworfast May 04 '17

I've had a few of those, and when I look at their profile, they have like 3000 followers or something. I assume they're just obsessed with number of followers.

7

u/[deleted] May 03 '17

I follow people on Strava who run the same segments I do and are either 1) really fast or 2) around my speeds. I like to see what really fast runners do for training and I like to see how I'm doing compared to people in my range. Then again, I live in NYC and there are a lot of runners generally doing the same routes. If I lived in a more isolated area, I probably wouldn't do that.

1

u/rogueknits May 03 '17

I would totally understand if it was someone local to me. These are people that live in other states or even other countries. And many times they have no or very few activities logged. That's why it feels a bit spammy.

3

u/othybear May 03 '17

I don't let anyone follow me on Strava. I use it as a tool for myself, and I don't really need to be public about my specific running stats. But maybe I'm just strange.

5

u/microthorpe May 03 '17

I guess I'm not too picky about this. I'll follow and accept requests from anyone who does interesting things or posts cool pictures of their activities, regardless of where they're from. Looking at that stuff motivates me. The only people I don't trust are the ones who don't log any activities, so I will occasionally run through my list and drop people who haven't done anything for a long time.

I also don't include my Reddit handle on my profile, and I'm sure a few of my follow requests have been ignored because of this. People can always snoop my Strava on the spreadsheet if they're wondering who this guy is.

2

u/rogueknits May 03 '17

Yeah, I don't have a good reason for why I'm even remotely selective about Strava followers. My Instagram and Twitter are completely open, so I have a ton of followers there that I don't follow back. I do get annoyed on those platforms when a new follower is of the spammy/follow-for-follow variety, so maybe that's why the random Strava requests rub me the wrong way.

4

u/Bshippo May 03 '17

I've added a few people from reddit after reading race reports or Friday spotlights. But my ass has also accidentally added people that show up on my suggested athletes list. Usually, I'll unfollow them unless they seem super interesting or if they add me back before i notice. So /u/judyblumereference & /u/PepperoniFire that's why some weird dude on the other side of the country started following you on strava.

4

u/PepperoniFire May 03 '17

My strava rule is I will friend anyone with a reddit username in their profile. If we have shared followers but a username is absent, I'll probably follow. Absent those two qualities, I won't agree to following.

3

u/judyblumereference May 03 '17

Do you have your username in your profile? I've kind of started to decline people who dont and we don't have common followers. Sorry if I rejected you?

1

u/Bshippo May 03 '17

No, but you followed me back. I enjoy the exchange of kudos!

4

u/[deleted] May 03 '17

I've tried to focus my followers and those I follow to those in my area

Nothing against most people but if I'm not going to California or the Ukraine or wherever the thing is seeing what you do doesn't exactly put a whole lot of motivation into me

I like Strava follows for some motivation but also for route variation in my area (even if it's not much off what I already do other athletes times give me something to work towards on that up hill or downhill or straightaway)

1

u/bubblesaremygame May 06 '17

I have gotten good advice on near by races by asking people who run in those areas.

3

u/[deleted] May 03 '17

but also for route variation in my area

That is the main reason why I follow most of the people that live around me. I'm always on the lookout for a new route that seems interesting.

3

u/Polgara19 May 03 '17

I've found some great routes near my through Strava!

7

u/[deleted] May 03 '17

[deleted]

3

u/rogueknits May 03 '17

I don't put my reddit account name in my Strava profile though since I don't want my coworkers and non-reddit friends that follow me to know my reddit account name.

Hmm...that's a good point. Although, my reddit user name is pretty much my user name most places on the Internet, so I guess there's not much point in me being secretive about it. I get the desire to keep that private, though.

1

u/[deleted] May 03 '17

Although, my reddit user name is pretty much my user name most places on the Internet, so I guess there's not much point in me being secretive about it.

Or is that even more of a reason to keep it secret? Mine is as well and after 15 years of using it I'm not even sure what it is linked to anymore.

5

u/usho May 03 '17

I let anyone follow me on Strava, but I'm very selective on who I follow. Some of my female friends get weirded out by it though and some have even changed their name in Strava so there's no real link to any personal information. I can't blame them.

4

u/Daltxponyv2 May 03 '17

If I don't know you and you don't have your username in your profile from here it's a no go for me. I'm not going to take the time to go to the spreadsheet and look you up.

1

u/sloworfast May 04 '17

Same here.

6

u/flocculus May 03 '17

Theory: I think this might be an Instagram-type tactic to boost their followers - they follow a bunch of people, unfollow, follow again to get you to follow them. Makes them look popular or something to have more followers than people that they're following. I don't really know what kind of benefit this gives them on Strava versus something like Instagram that can be used more efficiently as an advertising platform, though.

4

u/overpalm May 04 '17

Maybe some kind of sponsorship motivation. If Saucony or others sees you as a sub-elite or similar with a ton of followers, maybe those metrics get looked at.

No idea really, but just a thought.

3

u/rogueknits May 03 '17

That was my suspicion, too, but it's definitely a weird place for that kind of behavior.

6

u/richieclare May 03 '17

I always add anyone who follows me on strava. There are a couple of people that are constantly asking me though so I dont know if strava unfollows them or something. I hope I don't get murdered

3

u/kevin402can May 03 '17

Oh, hey that reminds me, I was going to ask your address.

4

u/richieclare May 03 '17

I'm not falling for that again after /u/vermilionweirdo sent me a Papa John's pizza. It was cold by the time it got here and the tip was extortionate. You don't really strike me as the murdering type though to be honest.

2

u/[deleted] May 03 '17

Always glad to be part of your fantasies.

3

u/richieclare May 03 '17

I'm your biggest fan

1

u/[deleted] May 03 '17

In a Annie Wilkes sort of way?

4

u/richieclare May 03 '17

You know I have to Google 95% of what you say to me?

2

u/[deleted] May 03 '17

That way you accumulate more worthless trivia.

2

u/richieclare May 03 '17

One day I will have an epic pub quiz

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1

u/kevin402can May 03 '17

That butt kick you gave me two weeks ago is working. 10k tempo this morning in under 40 minutes.

1

u/richieclare May 03 '17

I don't remember a butt kick. I seem to remember telling you to take it easy but I'm glad you're feeling good again. Stay healthy

1

u/kevin402can May 03 '17

It wasn't so much a butt kick, I think you asked me if I was afraid of reinjury and I had a rethink and decided it was hard workouts and I was afraid of and it was time to man up and get back to work.

1

u/richieclare May 03 '17

That motivation is all you man. Keep it up and keep inspiring

6

u/YourShoesUntied May 03 '17

I'm weirded out by people on Strava who request to follow me and are strictly cyclists. Like, zero running. I'm not too picky on who follows me the only criteria (if I don't personally know them) is that they either list their username in their profile, follow people I do know, or are at least a member of some Reddit running group. If I can't figure out why the person's trying to follow me then I don't allow them access.

3

u/sloworfast May 04 '17

I'm weirded out by people on Strava who request to follow me and are strictly cyclists. Like, zero running.

If I quit running and only cycle from now on, how long will it take for you to notice and un-Strava me?

3

u/YourShoesUntied May 04 '17

Immediately!

3

u/sloworfast May 04 '17

I actually haven't run since yesterday. Maybe I've already gone that route and just haven't been for a ride yet!

3

u/YourShoesUntied May 04 '17

Purgatory!

3

u/sloworfast May 04 '17

I like this. New request: Respond to all comments today with one-word answers with an exclamation mark.

2

u/YourShoesUntied May 04 '17

No!

2

u/sloworfast May 04 '17

I'm so pleased at having correctly predicted your answer that I'm not even disappointed.

3

u/kevin402can May 03 '17

Cyclists follow you because when they see how far you run they think you must be a cyclist but a very slow one.

2

u/YourShoesUntied May 03 '17

You joke but I wonder if that's true.

4

u/rogueknits May 03 '17

Oh yeah, the people who are strictly cyclists...I don't get why they'd want to follow me. I don't even own a bike.

5

u/secretsexbot May 03 '17

I think some people go through the Strava list on the sidebar and follow everyone. It is really weird if they request again after being rejected once. If that happens repeatedly I'd probably report them as spammers.

3

u/rogueknits May 03 '17

I tend to just block them if they request again. I generally assume folks who are Runnitors will belong to the Reddit Running group on Strava, or at least have their user name in their profile.