Running News Daily

Strava just took a giant leap to restore trust in its running segment leaderboards—over 4.45 million activities have been purged from the platform.

Why such a massive cleanup? Many of those entries were either mislabeled as runs when they weren’t, or recorded while the user was riding in a car. For runners chasing KOMs (King of the Mountain) and segment PRs, this move is long overdue.

The platform’s goal is simple: ensure that leaderboard rankings reflect genuine human effort, not accidental car rides or mislogged workouts.

Earlier this year, Strava introduced a new machine learning system designed to catch these errors. It analyzes 57 variables—including speed, acceleration, and GPS patterns—to detect anomalies. Since launching in February, the system has led to a 72% drop in user-reported “vehicle” runs.

For runners who’ve trained hard and earned their spot on the board, this is a welcome correction. And for those who’ve lost segment crowns to impossible paces, justice has finally arrived.

Strava isn’t just removing suspicious data—it’s giving runners control. The system allows users to fix flagged runs by marking them private or deleting them entirely.

But that’s not all. Strava is continuing to enhance the experience for runners:

• AI-powered route suggestions tailored to your training goals

• Points of interest like restrooms and water fountains embedded into routes

• Seamless point-to-point navigation for longer or exploratory runs

Strava has also expanded its platform by acquiring The Breakaway, a performance-focused training app, signaling even more tools may soon be available for serious and recreational runners alike.

Bottom line: Strava’s leaderboards are becoming cleaner, smarter, and more accurate—which means segment records now reflect what they were meant to: real running.