Should you start selling your runs on Strava?

Gaining a few extra kudos on the social media app Strava can be difficult if you’re not running at a jaw-dropping pace, but now some users have found a way to up their kudos without even breaking a sweat. In Indonesia, some users have taken a massive interest in gaining bragging rights around the office for runs that aren’t necessarily theirs, hiring “Strava jockeys” to log their runs for them.

These clients, whether too busy or too lazy to run themselves, pay other runners for their services and provide them with their Strava account login information. The desire for validation on social media is strong enough to justify paying for not only a Strava subscription, but also for fraudulent Strava segments.

Strava jockeys have simple rules: the faster the run you want posted (fraudulently), the higher their rate. One 17-year-old runner reportedly charges 50 cents per kilometre and an additional $1.75 for each kilometre at a pace of 4:00/km or faster. He does have his limits; for any runs over 10 kilometres, he refers the client to another jockey whose expertise is evidently more focused on long distances.

The trend started as a joke, but quickly went viral on X (formerly Twitter). One user reports gaining eight clients within the first six days of offering his running services. Indonesia’s minimum monthly wage is equivalent to CAD $178, so these jockeys were eager to pocket some additional easy money while still fitting in their weekly mileage.

Will Strava allow the exchange of running services to continue growing in popularity? Probably not. The trend has not caught on elsewhere, so for now, it sounds like a win-win situation for both parties. Until then, these popularity-hungry Strava users will continue to record, (not) sweat, share and offer kudos.