What are Strava Challenges?
Strava offers several types of challenges as a fun way to motivate people to push themselves and accomplish a specific goal. Challenges can last a day, several days, or even an entire month. They can have individual or group goals, and you may see challenges that ask you to meet a certain distance, elevation, or time goal, match a segment or be active for a certain number of days.
How do I participate in a Strava Challenge?
Search the Challenge Gallery for open challenges and click the join button for the ones that strike your interest (on the mobile app, use the Groups tab). Strava hosts various challenges, all of which have different rules and requirements, so be sure to familiarize yourself with the Details and Eligibility located on the challenge page. In general, you'll have the option to compete publicly on leaderboards or privately by tracking your progress.
- For your activities to count towards the challenge leaderboard results:
- Eligible activities must be visible to everyone.
- Eligible activities need to meet challenge goals or requirements.
- Manual activities will not count toward challenge leaderboards.
- Activities that will count toward your progress for the challenge goal include:
- Eligible activities (meet challenge goals or requirements) that are visible to everyone.
- Eligible activities that are visible to followers or only you.
- Manual activities, if eligible.
- Flagged activities (read more about resolving a flagged activity).
- Activities with excluded efforts (read more about excluded segment efforts).
If you upload multiple activities in one day, the activity that best contributes to the challenge goal will be used for the challenge. For example, if the challenge requires you complete activities of a certain distance, we'll use the longest activity.
Where can I check my progress toward a Challenge?
You can always check the Challenge page to view your progress. On both web and mobile, you’ll find a progress bar on the Challenge page to let you know how close you are to completing. You can also view your progress in currently joined challenges on your profile page in the mobile app. If you do not see any progress towards a challenge goal and/or your results on the challenge leaderboard, your activity may not be eligible. Please check the Details and Eligibility Rules for each challenge to understand what is required.
You’ll also get your own Trophy Case for completion badges, viewable on both the web and mobile.
Challenge Leaderboards
Some Strava Challenges have a leaderboard that ranks Strava athletes participating in the Challenge. If your activities are eligible and visible to everyone, you’ll see your status on the leaderboard.
- How leaderboards are sorted will vary, but the primary metrics for single activity and cumulative challenges are average pace, elevation gain, distance, and activity time.
- Some challenges will only include activities that meet a minimum goal per activity. Other challenges can have group goals instead of individual goals. Progress will reflect the Collective Total, and leaderboards will reflect the Top Contributors toward the goal. Manual activities may not be eligible. Athletes should check eligibility rules for each challenge.
Please see our article on activity flagging for more information on how to flag false data on a challenge leaderboard.
Challenge Prizes
For any questions related to prize eligibility and redemption, please contact the partner directly.
Sometimes we partner with other brands to sponsor challenges that offer prizes. Although we’re unable to offer prize redemption options to everyone due to restrictions in certain countries, we keep participation in challenges open to all. In other words, while we do our best to confine challenges to regions where athletes are eligible for prizes, it is possible for athletes to join and complete challenges for which they are not eligible for a prize. Prize eligibility and fulfillment are at the sole discretion of the partner hosting the Challenge. Please be sure to read the page for that specific challenge for more details pertaining to any rewards, and be sure to have a valid email on your account.
Challenge Notifications
You can control whether you'd like to receive email or push notifications related to challenges from the Strava website or mobile, respectively. To opt in or out of email notifications, log into your account on the Strava website and hover over your profile picture in the upper right-hand corner, and select Settings > Email Notifications. To opt-in or out of push notifications from the mobile app, navigate to Profile > Settings (gear icon) > Push Notifications. You'll have the option to receive notifications about the following:
- When someone shares a challenge with you.
- When someone invites you to a challenge.
- When you've joined, made progress on, or completed a challenge.
- When you complete a challenge that has a reward, donation, or an opportunity to learn more.
Tips and Tricks
- Already have a dedicated GPS device? Find out how to upload to Strava from yours.
- Set up your device for success:
- Record a test activity and get familiar with the recording and upload process (recording guides for both iOS and Android can be found here).
- Give your phone (or other GPS devices) time to acquire a solid GPS connection.
- Close other apps before using Strava.
- To ensure you meet the Challenge goal, we recommend you record a small amount over the required distance (about .5km/.3mi for runs and 3 km/2 mi for rides). GPS isn't perfect, so this will help accommodate data inaccuracies.
- Have trouble uploading? Here are some helpful tips to help troubleshoot for iOS and Android.
- Be sure to have your Email Notifications ON to receive important updates and prize information.
Comments
Article is closed for comments.