Strava
Live Connect
A real-time pace and distance sharing feature — proposed to make running together feel possible, even apart.
The gap in Strava's social layer
Strava's social features are built almost entirely around post-activity sharing — an athlete uploads a run, and friends engage with it afterward through kudos and comments. Live Connect proposes a different moment: sharing real-time pace, distance, and heart rate with friends and followers while the run is happening, creating a sense of virtual companionship even when running apart.
Running is social everywhere except mid-run
Strava's current model rewards athletes for what they did, not what they're doing right now. That creates a gap for:
- Athletes who want accountability or motivation during a run, not just recognition after it
- Friends or training partners who are geographically apart but want to feel like they're running together
- Coaches or training groups who want live visibility into pace and effort
This idea started mid-run. I found myself wishing I could see that a friend was also out running at that moment, and share pace in real time — the way a shared workout feels different from a solo one.
The infrastructure already exists
Strava already has real-time location sharing through Beacon — it's just scoped to safety, not social connection. Live Connect extends an existing capability rather than requiring something entirely new.
| Feature | Strava | Nike Run Club | Peloton | Zwift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Post-activity sharing | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Live safety location (Beacon) | Yes — safety only | No | No | No |
| Live group workouts | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Live pace/distance w/ friends | No | No | No | Limited |
Start a session. Run together, apart.
Before or during a run, an athlete starts a Live Session and invites specific friends or followers to join as viewers or co-runners.
- Live pace, distance, and heart rate feed, visible to invited friends in real time
- Side-by-side view — if a friend is also running live, see both progress bars and paces together
- Live cheers: a lightweight tap-to-send encouragement, not full messaging, to avoid mid-run distraction
- Privacy controls: opt-in per session, visible only to selected people, never public by default
- Heart rate is a separate opt-in toggle, since it depends on a connected wearable
The connection shouldn't end at the finish line.
When a Live Session ends, everyone who ran together gets a shared recap — combined distance, each person's pace, and a one-tap way to post it. The live experience becomes a piece of content people actually want to share, extending Strava's reach onto Instagram Stories and feeds.
- Auto-generated recap card for every participant in the session, not just the person who started it
- Combined group stats (total distance, longest run, average pace) alongside individual splits
- One-tap export sized for Instagram Story or feed post, plus a version for other platforms
- Doubles as organic growth: non-Strava friends tagged in a story become a natural invite loop
Who this is for
- Long-distance friendship — two friends in different cities run "together" at the same time, watching each other's live pace
- Follower engagement — a creator or athlete with a following goes live during a race; followers watch and send cheers
- Coach-athlete monitoring — a coach watches an athlete's live pace and heart rate during a key workout without needing to be present
Why it's worth building
Increases in-app time during the activity itself, not just before or after.
Adds a habit-forming social loop — checking if a friend is live — beyond weekly kudos-checking.
A natural candidate for Strava's paid tier, similar to how Beacon and Live Segments already sit behind premium.
Shareable recap cards put Strava branding in front of non-users on Instagram — a low-cost acquisition channel.