"What Do You Mean You Don't Use Strava?"

If I had a dollar for every time I heard this...

The many times I’ve had runners ask me for my Strava and gasp when my response is: “I don’t really use Strava,” always amuses me.

One afternoon, I had to sit down and really ask myself what it is about Strava that makes me feel so anxious. I don’t typically experience anxiety, nor have I dealt with it before, but the uneasy feeling I get when using Strava to sync my data for a challenge or earn a virtual NYRR medal is overwhelming — almost as if a part of me goes numb.

A quick disclaimer: I do not dislike Strava, by any means. I find it resourceful and will keep using it to find running routes in new / unfamiliar places and love that others use it to connect and build community.

There are two sides of it, it seems.

What I gathered from the deepest part of my mind is that it has to do with my solo running intentions. I perform the best when I’m staying in my own lane. Early on in my running journey, I remember falling victim to the comparison game. I would spend more time comparing my paces and times with runners I didn’t even know. I didn’t know their journey, what they were going through… I didn’t even know where they lived! All I did know was the numbers they were hitting and their mileages on Strava. And then it hit me — it wasn’t so much that I didn’t want to share my paces or times on my training runs, it’s that I had become so traumatized by how I viewed Strava, that I couldn’t find a healthier approach to the app. So, I logged off and didn’t log back on.

Now, that’s not to say I haven’t been on the app. Once a year, I’ll do at least one virtual NYRR (New York Road Runners) run for some credits, and then I’ll see my stats appear on that page. It doesn’t bother me as much anymore and truthfully, I’m not totally opposed to being on Strava again. It’s just that I’ve gone so long without it, I don’t see the need to use it in the ways I’ve seen my runner friends do. I truly love that people have found community there — I love that this sport brings people together from all over the world.

The second side…

When I first started sharing my running journey on social media, I asked myself: “What do I want people watching to gain from my story / journey?”

The answer then, and still now, is this: I want others to see what’s possible when you commit to hard work, discipline, and grit in pursuit of challenging goals. I want people to see the source of my strength—how God can use my gifts in storytelling and running to inspire even just one person.

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When it comes to training, I don’t want people to get caught up in the numbers, the mileage, or the logged runs. That’s not the whole story. I want to be the author of my own story, showing the hard work and progress through the narrative I share. Because that’s the perspective I want people to see — it’s not just the miles that got me here. The numbers can’t capture what I’m experiencing in training. They don’t reflect what’s going through my mind or what’s happening in my life — the parts that don’t make it on social media.

What I truly love is sharing my journey week-to-week on my Instagram Stories. I get messages from strangers and fellow runners telling me that my storytelling — my perspective on training — inspires them. It’s not just about hitting a goal or chasing a flashy time. It’s about the mental battles, the realities of marathon training, and the honest breakdown of the process that resonates with them. And if I can communicate that with even one person in a meaningful way, that’s what brings me joy.

So to answer the question, do I have a Strava? Yes.

Will I make it public? Hmm, I’ll get back to you on that one.