The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner is one of those great 1960s British films that tackle edgy social themes, in this case the life of a young petty thief who discovers a talent for running.

But lonely runners, and for that matter cyclists, may soon be a thing of the past, if a business called Strava continues to grow.

Strava, the Swedish word for "to strive", was founded five years ago by two former Harvard oarsmen, Mark Gainey and Michael Horvath.

Having set up one software company and taken it public, the pair found themselves as middle-aged family men with the sort of obligations that made team-sports impractical.

It was out of this situation that the idea for Strava arose; as Gareth Nettleton, the business's London-based director of international marketing, explained: "They saw software as a platform that would allow them to create some social competition, authentic camaraderie and in-depth training tools.

"In its simplest form, they imagined a 'virtual locker-room' where they could share workouts among their athlete friends and keep each other motivated along the way."

The idea has grown into a service that enables millions of potentially solitary recreational runners and cyclists around the world to interreact with each other.

Strava allows runners and cyclists around the world to connect with each other ©Strava



Peter Keen, the enormously successful former performance director of UK Sport who alerted me to Strava's existence, thinks it is "a game-changer.

"It's turning an individual activity into a social sport," he says.

According to Nettleton, Strava is easy to join, either by signing up free of charge on the Strava.com website, or by downloading a mobile app.

He continues: "When a member goes for a run or a ride, Strava will help them track their activity.

"They can do this by using the Strava app on their smart-phone, or they can run or ride with pretty much any other GPS device, such as a watch or bike computer, and upload to the Strava website afterwards.

"Once a member uploads, we analyse their data to show them where they ran or rode, how fast they went and how hard they were working.

"Additionally, we also allow our members to compare their times with other runners and cyclists who have run or ridden the same roads and trails previously.

"We call these Strava segments."

Keen, now director of sport advancement and strategy at Loughborough University in the English Midlands, says: "You can see a complete record of your day in the saddle and social interaction is built-in.

"People are, in effect, racing each other by recording their performance over a given section of road.

"You can tell you are, say, 10th out of 12,000.

"It's changing the nature of cycling."

The fastest athletes over individual segments are awarded "King of the Mountains" or "Course Record" accolades.

Gareth Nettleton, Strava's London-based director of international marketing, has said the business has changed the nature of cycling ©Gareth Nettleton/Twitter



"The competition is a real motivator," Nettleton says.

He also explains that Strava has a popular "Clubs" section, which he likens to "virtual clubhouses where announcements get made, group runs and rides get organised and important notices get posted.

"We have seen real-world clubs setting up their own Strava club as an extension of what they have already, as well as entirely virtual clubs springing up, where running and riding buddies can keep track of each other even if they are based on opposite sides of the globe," he says.

How does San Francisco-based Strava make money, given that no advertising was, as Nettleton puts it, "a founding principle"?

He says the business model is a subscription one: "We have Strava Premium, which costs $3.99 (£2.42/€3.03) per month or $39.99 (£24.30/€30.44) for an annual subscription".

This offers a "richer" Strava experience with additional features and functionality which allow more detailed analysis of performance.

The business also offers what Nettleton describes as a "fairly unique e-commerce platform and model.

"Every month, we run certain challenges on Strava and for those athletes who successfully complete a challenge, we make unique gear rewards available for them to purchase.

"This could be a one-off cycling jersey for instance that will only be available to those athletes who put in the hard work to complete the challenge."

Data on where people run and ride is being made available to transport departments and town planners ©Getty Images



Finally, anonymised data on where people run and ride is offered to transport departments and town planners through the Strava Metro service.

"In the UK, we have recently started working with Transport for London and Glasgow City Council," Nettleton says.

"It's the kind of information they can't get from anywhere else."

Could Strava branch out into other sports - triathlon seems the most obvious, since it caters for two of the three disciplines already?

For now, Nettleton tells me, it is concentrating on runners and cyclists primarily, though he acknowledges "serving triathletes is an obvious next step, and in fact we already allow members to upload their swims if they have a device that can track them".

For the foreseeable future, however, he says, the business's "energies will be spent on continually improving and enhancing the Strava experience for the members that we already have".

Someone once said that the internet meant the death of geography.

By applying that insight to sport, while enabling recreational athletes to feel part of a team without sacrificing the freedom to exercise when, where and how it suits them, Strava seems to have devised a service that is very well adapted to the realities of modern life.

David Owen worked for 20 years for the Financial Times in the United States, Canada, France and the UK. He ended his FT career as sports editor after the 2006 World Cup and is now freelancing, including covering the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 2010 World Cup and London 2012. Owen's Twitter feed can be accessed here.