More than 120 million people worldwide are said to use the sports app Strava. The company has now examined the sports behavior of users by age group – and has come to astonishing results.
Anyone who believes that younger people are “lazier” and less performance-oriented than older people might feel confirmed by this study: According to an analysis of the sports app Strava, 13- to 26-year-olds jog and cycle faster than all other age groups – but cover significantly shorter distances. This was the result of an analysis of user data from the app, which, according to the company, is installed on more than 120 million smartphones worldwide.
Strava study: “Gen Z” doesn’t cycle far, but fast
On Strava, athletes can upload performance data such as distance, speed and energy consumption and compare it with the data of other users. Professionals such as racing bike stars Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert also regularly share information about their training sessions there. For its study, the San Francisco-based company evaluated the data sets of almost 7,000 cyclists and joggers collected between October 2022 and 2023.
The so-called boomers, i.e. the age group of 58 to 76 year olds, proved to be particularly persistent. On average, they cycled more than 32 kilometers per trip, followed by the 42 to 57 year olds, who cycled an average of around 27.3 kilometers. Last place in this category was taken by the group of “millennials”, which Strava defines as the 27 to 41 year olds. With only around 300 meters more per trip, “GenZ” hardly sets itself apart from its predecessors. The youngest users of the app, on the other hand, were apparently in a particularly big hurry.
The most comfortable jogs are “Boomers”
The 13 to 26 year olds covered their distances at an average speed of 20.7 km/h – the top value in this category, but not much faster than the 42 to 57 year olds, who travelled at an average of just under 20.6 km/h. “Millennials” (27 to 41 years) and “Boomers” (58 to 76 years) cycled a little more leisurely, averaging just under 20.3 km/h. The Strava study shows a very similar picture for jogging: here too, the youngest prefer short and fast runs.
The 13 to 26 year olds jogged an average of 5.31 kilometers and needed about 5:37 minutes for each kilometer – no other age group ran faster. The 42 to 57 year olds, on the other hand, covered the furthest distances with an average of 6.27 kilometers, but also took 6:08 minutes per kilometer to do so. The “Boomers” ran the most leisurely with 6:45 minutes per kilometer for an average distance of 6.4 kilometers. The 27 to 41 year old “Millennials” are in the middle with an average distance of 6.9 kilometers, and needed about 6:54 minutes for each kilometer.
The study also looks at the different reasons why different age groups do sports. In a survey, more than half of all Strava users said that they were motivated to compare their results with friends and relatives via the app. The social aspect of sport is most important for the youngest age group: According to Strava, “Gen Z” clearly prefers doing sport with another person than members of other age groups. For 27 to 57-year-olds, on the other hand, health is the main focus, which seemed much less important to the younger ones.
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Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
