37: Safety, Strava, and Social Media More Than Miles

In episode #37 of the podcast, Dr. Kate and Dr. Kacy discuss running safety, social media use among runners and the use of fitness tracking platforms such as Strava. They begin with an objective but sobering look at some statistics regarding harassment among female runners. They also talk about ways to improve safety and reduce risk of adverse events when running. Unfortunately, some of the harassment experienced by high profile female runners has involved the use of social media sites and so Dr. Kate and Dr. Kacy talk about how runners might use social media to promote positive outcomes and decrease potential harassment. They also discuss some potential downsides to the fitness tracking platform Strava such as becoming overly competitive with online runners or feeling more peer pressure to look a certain way or train or race a certain way due to comparison with elite runners (who have a huge advantage over those of us who run recreationally, because let’s face it...running is their JOB!). We hope you will give this episode a listen and spread the word among your running community to improve safety while running!