Athlete Posts will allow users of the app to create and share content in the form of posts, tips, articles and discussion topics.

Writer: Carly Terwilliger

Fitness platform Strava is adding another social feature to its popular app. Athlete Posts will kick off initially with a curated list of bloggers – including marathoner Kelly Roberts, former American track and field athlete Lauren Fleshman, and triathlete James Lawrence – to create and share content in the form of posts, tips, articles and discussion topics.

Aaron Forth, Strava product officer, said in a statement, “Strava is a place where athletes come to connect with each other, share their experiences and learn from one another. And until now, those connections have been based entirely on athletic activities. Our opportunity is to help athletes have conversations beyond their daily activities, sharing everything from favorite gear, to injury recovery tips, to travel recommendations.”

Strava is also broadening its social offerings with its Club Events feature, which helps coordinate meetups by allowing Strava users to join clubs from their smartphone app. Joining a club will reveal recent rides and runs logged by other members, a comment section and a widget that shows your recent rides and runs. Beacon, meanwhile, lets users share distance, caloric expenditure, and speed in real time.

“Strava is already where millions of athletes go to record activities, track their training and connect with their friends,” said Strava in a blog post announcing the new function. “Now it can also be where you discover the perfect half marathon. It can be where you share awesome photos of your summit sunrise or slick new bike. It can be where you ask other cyclists about the best tire choice for your next MTB vacation. It can be where you share your homemade energy bar recipe, your all-time favorite trail, your tips for fixing a busted IT band, a new article on running across Africa, stories from your latest adventure vacation … we can go on and on.”

Although Strava keeps tight-lipped about its number of users, it claims 16 activities are uploaded every second. That adds up to 10 million every week.

Athlete Posts will begin with 36 people and then launch this summer, when it will roll out to Strava’s broader community.

Photo courtesy Strava