Strava’s Year In Sport: 2024’s Activities Unwrapped 

Activity app Strava has released its annual Year In Sport trend report for 2024. 

Looking at billions of activities from 135 million people in 190 countries, plus over 5,000 respondents to a randomised survey of Strava users, they’ve revealed global activity habits and insights between 1 September 2023 and 31 August 2024.

The headlines this year are that sport has become increasingly important for social connection but we’re still hitting our activity goals and taking part in more races and activities than before.  

Here are all the things you need to know. 

Huge Increase In Running Together & Sport As Social Connection

This is probably the most significant part of this year’s report, with a lot of really great insight relating to how we’re exercising together. 

There’s been a 59% increase in running clubs, meaning more of us are running socially with others, often in a more relaxed environment rather than one focused on performance.

Running is the fastest-growing social sport on Strava, closely followed by walking which has a 52% increase in social clubs in 2024. 

An average of 58% of people make friends through fitness, which is even higher for Gen Z (66%). Around half of people say that social connection is their main reason to join a fitness group, and 40% of Gen Z want to do more workouts with friends in 2025. Community is increasingly important to us as runners, which we’ve seen very clearly since launching TRC Club. 

We’re more likely to run further with others, and the number of larger group runs (10+ people) has increased (put those together and we’ll go 40% further in a big group compared to on our own).

Group exercise sessions can have three-times more downtime (hitting pause on the watch!) than solo activities, meaning we’re stopping to chat or have a drink before finishing the activity. Cyclists especially love a coffee stop, and weekend group rides average a 28 minute stop, which was more likely to be for a flat white than to fix a flat tire!

Fancy A Drink Run?

Four-times more people would prefer to meet someone at a fitness group compared to a bar, while 1 in 5 Gen Z’ers have been on a date with someone they met through exercise. We’re also cutting back (or willing to cut back) on alcohol in order to meet fitness goals or help others achieve theirs. 

The Sub-20 Club

No, we’re not talking about a fast 5km, but workouts under 20 minutes increased in 2024 – in fact, one in five activities recorded on Strava was less than 20 minutes. These quick bursts of activity, like a walk, strength session, yoga, elliptical or stair stepper, show that we’re embracing efficient workouts (or we just can’t face more than 20 minutes on the stepper!). 

More Marathons, Ultras and Century Rides

Doing shorter activities and social runs hasn’t stopped an increase in long runs and rides as there was a 9% increase in marathons, ultramarathons and 100-mile cycles. 

How Long?

57% of people surveyed think the ideal workout length is 45-60 minutes, and 53 minutes was the median activity duration on Strava in 2024. 

How Fast?

The median running speed was 10:15 per mile or 6:22 per km for all Strava users in 2024. That matches up pretty well with our analysis of average marathon finish times! 

Women Hit The Gym

There was a 25% increase in women doing weight training in 2024, making it the fastest-growing sport among women. It was also 40% more likely that a woman logged a run or ride indoors compared to a man.  

Rest To Impress

We’re prioritising rest and recovery when training for half marathons and marathons. In a 16-week marathon training block, an average of 51% of days were rest days. Those training for a half marathon on Strava had even more rest days. 

Mental Health vs Longevity

There’s an interesting generational difference in the top health and fitness goals for 2025, with Gen Z (in their 20s) more likely to say mental health, and Gen X (in their 40s and 50s) more likely to say longevity.  

Pull Your Socks Up!

There’s also a generational divide in sock height. Gen Z favour crew socks while Gen X vote for no-show. 

Stretch, Eat, Sleep, Repeat

43% of Strava users want to take on a big race goal in 2025. To help them achieve that, 19% want to work on their stretching and mobility, while improving diet and getting better sleep is also important for a lot of us. 

Top Running Shoes On Strava

Based on the shoes we tag on Strava, the overall top running shoe in 2024 was the Nike Pegasus, followed by HOKA Clifton and Asics Gel Nimbus. 

Nike were the top shoe for races, with the Nike Vaporfly the most common shoe for 5k, 10k and half marathon, and Nike Alphafly the most popular for marathons. 

More Supershoes in 2024

44% of marathons in 2024 were uploaded with a carbon plate shoe, and overall there was a 14% increase in the use of carbon plate shoes in all races. 

Co-Ordinated Black & Blue

Black is the most popular colour for workout clothes, with blue in second place. Coordinated workout clothes are especially popular with Gen Z, as 71% of them endorse matching colours. 

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The main takeaways from Strava’s Year In Sport is that more of us want to exercise with others, we’re happy doing shorter and more varied activities, to help with our fitness goals, and in 2025 many of us have big goals and big plans – and all of them will be shared on Strava!