Friday, 11 January 2013

App Review - Strava

Back in November I posted a review of the Nike+ running app, this was purely because it was the only running app I'd ever really used. I'm a little older and a little more experienced now and I'm glad to say I've seen more of the world and some more apps that are knocking around. Strangely I didn't come across Strava by deciding to go for a run and try something different or because I was having a look through the app store on my iPhone. 


Most Saturdays I go for a couple of quiet drinks with a few old friends, and more often then not I'll end chatting with one of my friends about fitness related stuff, he enjoys his cycling and I enjoy running and other things. During one of these conversations just before Christmas he mentioned Strava which he uses for his cycling and mentioned that it can also be used for running. I decided that it was worth having a look and as I needed to go for a few runs as Christmas was coming and I knew that my fitness was going to take a bit of a dive, so here is what I've found out!

What does it do?

Well the obvious answer is that it tracks your runs, but a better question I suppose is "what does it do different to the Nike+ App?". My first thoughts when downloading the app was that it seemed to be targeted at more serious runners, where as I always felt that the Nike+ app was more targeted at casual or new runners, trying to make it seem as easy going and friendly as possible. Unlike the Nike app there is no choice of run type (set distance / time etc) there is just the option to run. There also isn't a music option, sure you can play your music while using the app but you can't set a playlist through the app or select "power songs" to motivate you, this app seems to say "Your here because you want to run, you don't need any motivation". As on the Nike app you can also get prompts while you run on your pace at set intervals, which is useful to know if you need to speed up or maybe slow down a bit.
Business Time
As with the other app I feel one of the key features of this app are the results. Once you finish a run you will be given a list of stats about your run with your normal info like run time, distance, calories and pace. Similar to the Nike app you will also get told of any records you have broken, but it also goes one step further by ranking every milestone you pass. For example you may have done your best 5K but how do you know how this run compared to others at the 1 mile point? Strava will tell you this. 
Various useful Stats from the website
My favourite stat that you are given though is run time, in most running apps if you have to stop and you forget to pause your run then it will effect your average pace, not with Strava though, it gives you a total time and a running time, allowing you not to worry if you get stuck trying to cross a road for a couple of minutes. There is also the standard breakdown of time / pace per mile and also some information on your elevation during your run which is interesting if not useful! As you would expect all of this information is uploaded immediately to the website allowing you to view data in better detail and quickly! If you have access to a heart rate monitor then you can also plus this into your phone to allow the app to record this as well. 

The Strava Community

As you would expect Strava also have their on community type thing, allowing you to connect through Facebook with friends so that you can compare runs/rides and give each other support by commenting or giving 'kudos'. Where Strava is very good is with the 'segments' feature. In this feature you can look at a part of your run and turn it into a segment. Once you have done this, whenever you run this route Strava will take the information from this part of the run and compare it to previous runs. It doesn't matter if your full run is a different route, provided that you run that same little section.
Segments close to my house.
On top of this, if you make this segment public then other people (willingly or not) can run down this and Strava will automatically register this run and compare their times to all the others who have run it and when they have finished they will get an award telling them where they placed. Whoever is fastest on this segment becomes 'King of the Mountain' and the previous KOTM will get a message informing them that they have lost their spot! I went for a run on Tuesday and when I finished I found that I'd finished 10th on the Oxley Moor Canal segment, which I previously knew nothing about, now I really want to get back down there and climb up the table!

How much does it cost?

Like the Nike+ app it is free, however there is an option to upgrade to a premium account (either a monthly payment of $6/month or $59 per year) which will rate the intensity of your runs based on things such as pace, elevation and heart rate. On top of this you also have bonuses such as comparing your runs on segments by groups, e.g. people aged 24-29 or based on weight class. These little touches allow you to have a better knowledge of what kind of shape you are in.

Strava can also be used if you have a Garmin watch or sensor so if you decided that carrying your phone was to much hassle then you could use your watch to measure your run instead, though obviously you would have less readily accessible information.

Is it worth getting?

Since using it once I've stuck with it instead of my Nike+ app. I feel that its more suited to the serious runner and having compared it with longer runs it looks as if the GPS's response is better than Nike's allowing more accurate results, especially as it will use a run time instead of total time option.

The segment idea also works better then Nike's as it is quite obvious how it works, also you can search for segments on your phone or on the website prior to the run and can plan your route to hit as many as possible. I found that despite Nike having a similar concept there were no pre-made runs any where near me, lowering my motivation. On my first run round the roads local to me I went through 4 different segments which only motivated me more when I found that I was only finishing 5th on the leader-board! With the premium version you can also have your segments rated (using information such as elevation) to determine their difficulty, allowing you to find the hardest routes in the local area.

The few draw backs are that if you want to create your own segment you need to have already run it so that you have a base time for it and you don't have the cheer facility that the Nike app does or the power songs modes. There also isn't the option to just run 5K, if you want to do that you need to run until you get a prompt or plan your route physically so you know your end point.

Overall I like to think of running apps as being more horses for course, if you want to go for a serious run, have a play with strava, if its only the odd run you're doing Nike+ is great. As for me I'm trying to get serious about running so my future is with strava, but both are great so make your own mind up!

Cheers,

Rich

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