Strava Segments: Creation, Benefits, and Best Practices

How to Create a Segment on Strava?

Creating a segment on Strava allows athletes to define specific sections of roads or trails to compete against others and themselves, fostering a unique blend of competitive challenge and performance tracking. This process is primarily conducted via the Strava website, leveraging your own recorded activity data to delineate the segment's start and end points.

Understanding Strava Segments

What is a Strava Segment? A Strava segment is a pre-defined section of road or trail, typically ranging from a few hundred meters to several kilometers, where athletes can compete for the fastest time. These segments are user-generated, meaning any Strava member can create one from their own activity data. Once created, any athlete who records an activity (run, ride, swim, etc.) that traverses that segment will have their time automatically ranked on a public leaderboard.

The Value of Segments for Athletes Segments serve multiple purposes for fitness enthusiasts and competitive athletes:

• Motivation and Competition: They provide a virtual racecourse, allowing athletes to compete for "King/Queen of the Mountain" (KOM/QOM) or "Course Record" (CR) titles, or simply to improve their personal bests (PRs).
• Performance Tracking: Segments offer granular data on performance over specific terrain, helping athletes identify strengths, weaknesses, and progress over time.
• Training Tool: Coaches and athletes can use segments for structured interval training, testing specific physiological adaptations (e.g., hill climbing power, sprint speed).
• Community Engagement: Segments foster a sense of community by allowing athletes to compare their efforts with friends and local competitors.

Prerequisites for Segment Creation

Before you can create a Strava segment, ensure you meet the following requirements:

• Activity Data: You must have completed an activity (e.g., run, ride) that covers the exact route you wish to turn into a segment. This activity must be uploaded to Strava and set to "Everyone" or "Followers" visibility (private activities cannot be used for segment creation). The activity must also contain GPS data.
• Web Browser Access: Segment creation is exclusively done via the Strava website (strava.com) on a desktop or laptop computer. It is not possible to create segments using the Strava mobile app.

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Strava Segment

Follow these instructions meticulously to create your own Strava segment:

Step 1: Upload Your Activity Ensure the activity you want to use for segment creation is successfully uploaded to your Strava account. Navigate to your activity feed and click on the specific activity.

Step 2: Access the Segment Creation Tool On the activity details page:

• Scroll down to the map of your activity.
• Locate the "wrench" icon (or "Actions" menu) beneath the map, typically on the left side.
• Click the wrench icon, and from the dropdown menu, select "Create New Segment." This will open the segment creation interface.

Step 3: Define Your Segment Start and End Points The segment creation interface will display your activity on a map, with a green marker (start) and a red marker (end) overlaid on your route.

• Drag the Green Marker: Move the green marker to the precise point where you want your segment to begin. Zoom in on the map for accuracy.
• Drag the Red Marker: Move the red marker to the precise point where you want your segment to end.
• Refine with Sliders: Below the map, there are two sliders corresponding to the start and end points. These sliders offer finer control, allowing you to move the markers forward or backward second by second along your activity's timeline. This is crucial for precise placement, especially for segments starting or ending at specific landmarks.
• Preview: As you adjust the markers, the segment will be highlighted on the map. Ensure the highlighted section accurately represents the desired segment.

Step 4: Review and Name Your Segment Once you are satisfied with the start and end points:

• Click the "Next" button.
• Strava will then show you a preview of the segment.
• Name Your Segment: Enter a clear, descriptive name for your segment. Good names often include the location, type of terrain, or a famous landmark (e.g., "Main Street Climb," "Lakeside Sprint," "Park Loop North").
• Mark as Private (Optional): If you only want to use the segment for personal tracking and do not wish for it to appear on public leaderboards, you can check the "Make this segment private" box. Most users create public segments.

Step 5: Publish Your Segment

• After naming and confirming your segment details, click "Create Segment."
• Strava will process the segment. It may take a few moments for the segment to appear and for your time on it to be registered on the leaderboard.
• Your activity will now show your time on this newly created segment.

Best Practices for Effective Segment Creation

Creating high-quality segments enhances the experience for everyone on Strava. Consider these best practices:

• Choose Logical Start and End Points: Select points that are easily identifiable and safe, such as a road intersection, a bridge, a specific sign, or a change in terrain. Avoid arbitrary mid-road points that are hard to pinpoint without GPS.
• Avoid Overlapping Segments: Before creating a new segment, search the area for existing segments. Duplicating or creating segments that heavily overlap with popular existing ones can clutter the map and leaderboards.
• Keep Segments Manageable: Segments that are too short (e.g., less than 0.1 miles/160 meters) can be prone to GPS inaccuracies, while excessively long segments may not offer clear competitive focal points. Aim for a balance.
• Consider Safety and Legality: Do not create segments that encourage dangerous behavior (e.g., through busy intersections, against traffic, on private property without permission). Ensure segments are on publicly accessible and safe routes.
• Give Clear, Descriptive Names: A good name helps others understand what the segment entails and makes it easier to find. Include the direction if applicable (e.g., "Smith Road Climb Northbound").
• Check for Existing Segments: Use Strava's "Explore Segments" feature or zoom in on the map of your activity to see if a similar segment already exists. If it does, consider contributing to that existing segment instead of creating a redundant one.

Troubleshooting Common Segment Issues

While segment creation is generally straightforward, you might encounter some issues:

• Segment Not Appearing: After creation, it might take a few minutes for the segment to fully propagate. If it doesn't appear on your activity or in searches, double-check that you clicked "Create Segment" and that it wasn't accidentally marked private.
• Incorrect Leaderboard Data: Discrepancies can arise from GPS drift, activity pauses, or errors in segment definition. Ensure your activity's GPS data is clean and that the segment start/end points are precisely defined.
• Segment Not Matching Activity: If your activity doesn't register on a segment you know you covered, it could be due to GPS accuracy issues, slight deviations from the exact segment path, or the segment being marked private. Ensure your activity's privacy settings allow for public segment matching.

The Biomechanics and Physiological Benefits of Segment Training

From an exercise science perspective, utilizing Strava segments can significantly enhance training efficacy:

• Pacing and Effort Regulation: Segments inherently demand a specific effort level over a defined distance. This trains athletes in pacing strategies, crucial for race performance. By repeatedly tackling a segment, athletes learn to optimize their energy expenditure for maximal speed over that specific terrain.
• Interval Training Application: Segments are ideal for interval training. A segment can serve as a high-intensity interval (e.g., a challenging climb), with the preceding and subsequent sections acting as recovery periods. This structured approach improves cardiovascular fitness, lactate threshold, and muscular endurance.
• Motivation and Goal Setting: The competitive aspect of segments, striving for a PR or KOM/QOM, provides powerful extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Setting segment-specific goals can drive consistent training and push athletes beyond perceived limits, contributing to overall performance enhancement and psychological resilience. The immediate feedback loop of the leaderboard reinforces effort and progress.

Conclusion: Leveraging Segments for Performance Enhancement

Creating and utilizing Strava segments is more than just a digital game; it's a powerful tool for self-improvement, community engagement, and structured training. By understanding the biomechanics of effort, the physiological demands of specific terrain, and the psychology of competition, athletes can strategically incorporate segments into their routines. Whether you're aiming for a personal best on a local climb or seeking to connect with your athletic community, mastering segment creation provides a direct pathway to a more engaging and analytical fitness journey.