Why I’m hesitant to track my runs

March 2023 • Essay • Environmental Science & Health Journalism @ UNC

I love it when my little sister runs. 

She’s always been the funniest person I know, but since moving to college, I’ve missed giggling at her dry humor and constant quips. Despite an admirable high school tennis career, she’s always stubbornly turned down my invitation to run together. 

I’m not sure what changed, but I called her recently, and in a huff and a puff, she indicated that she was finally giving running a shot. She told me to follow her on Strava, and though I’d sworn off exercise tracking apps years ago, I gave in. Her first Strava post was a 1.5 mile run captioned, “Worst thing ever! 0/10 boooooooo.” I laughed, comforted by her realness and proud of her for picking up running.

Besides a brief appearance on my high school cross country team, I’ve only ever run sporadically – when it feels right. Some weeks, I’ll lace up my Hoka Cliftons three or four times while sometimes, they just gather dust on my porch. An afternoon jaunt around the neighborhood is the perfect way to allow my body to move as quickly as my thoughts often do. My refusal to plan or schedule runs is intentional, though I have many speedy friends who swear that tracking their workouts is the only reason they’re inspired to try harder. 

Whether it’s through watch technology or an app, data related to how we perform physically during an exercise session is becoming increasingly popular. Fitness tracking technology uses biometrics technology to track heart rate, blood oxygen levels and more to provide a visual representation of one’s health. These technologies are often motivating; when you can look down at your watch in the middle of a workout, you can determine how much faster you need to move in order to meet your goal. 

My 600 student boarding school for science and math had a cross country team of over 100 people, meaning that one-sixth of my school was running regularly. It always made sense to me that so many STEM students enjoyed running. It’s a sport that relies on self-improvement, and with easy access to our health statistics, calculating the speed and distances we needed to reach our goals became simple and satisfying. We were grouped based on mile time-trials to train with others at our level. But I discovered that being in tune with the numeric aspects of my workouts was slowing me down. On race day, when time actually mattered, I’d set a goal for myself, only to fail to achieve it. During practice, I’d look down at my FitBit to determine how fast I was moving to become discouraged when the numbers didn’t look like I wanted them to. 

Strava, the leader in run-tracking technology, is used by 95 million people globally. On top of its ability to track workouts from running to snowboarding via GPS, Strava is social media. Users can post their workouts to their feed and captions them. You can follow your friends, comment on their posts and “give kudos” to encourage them. The app also encourages you. Each time you bike a part of a route faster than before or run your best mile time, you get an electronic trophy.

While I quickly unfollowed the fitness influencers I once kept up with on both Instagram and Youtube – it’s not always pleasant to see someone lifting weights while mindlessly scrolling and eating chips in bed, – seeing my friends’ workouts is inspiring. It’s impossible to deny the power of social media as an engaging platform for sharing fitness achievements. 

In high school, the two girls who’d quickly become the best friends I have to this day invited me on a 6 a.m. run. We’d return to school before our classes started at 8 a.m., they said, and as a bonus, none of our peers would be awake to see us struggle. 

That was the first run I really enjoyed, frolicking anonymously through the morning. I was supported by new friends; there was no pressure to run a certain distance at any pace. The air was crisp, and I was perfectly inspired to keep my legs moving on this wild adventure. We ran for four miles, two miles longer than I knew myself to be capable of at the time. Legs aching and spirits high, we dashed into our school’s cafeteria in time for breakfast before class. 

I often reflect on this run as the way that running is supposed to feel. Once I took off my FitBit and focused on the moment, I could run four miles without thinking about it. 

I've enjoyed Strava lately. I’m training for my first race since cross country (a very casual duathlon), and I like marking my progress. My feed ranges from my young professional cousin (who knew he ran?) casually putting down eight miles around D.C. to my sister who rates each of her runs, none of which have scored higher than “5/10.” Thinking of goofy captions for my posts during runs has become a pastime, a reason to keep my legs moving. While I certainly enjoy the social aspect of the app, I know I will never again watch my pace as I run. My phone will remain tucked away in my shorts.