Walking is the second most performed sport by Strava users in 2025

— All the doctors I consulted with, from psychiatrists to neurologists, told me the same thing. That I had to exercise and that physical activity was better than the six medications I was taking at the time, recalls Valeria, who also deals with obesity issues. -But I didn’t want to go to the gym, everyone was looking at me…

In 2025, she started walking. It includes routine follow-up with a nutritionist and treatment. During this period, she lost 20 kilos (her weight is 108 kilos).

Valeria says she has already done hiking, including while running short distances. But it was sporadic. She now attends groups such as Arte e Corre Crew, Correndelas, Corre Cleo and Adidas Runner and does races up to 5 km with the Appai teacher group. She walks at least three times a week and has begun training using a spreadsheet.

– During tests, I run for a minute, then walk. I walk 90% of the way — Valeria who fell in love knows: — It’s in the open air, I meet people and I like to talk. I think it’s all very democratic. There are elderly people, children, people with limited abilities… and they all have the same goal.

Valeria says that of the six medications she took, there was only one left. It has also changed the way she looks at her body.

– My goal is to take care of myself, lose another 15 kilograms, go back to work in March, when my vacation is over, and run 10 km. In the long run, I don’t want to be the same age as my father, who is 87 and can’t walk. We suffer from lipedema in our legs and I am grade 3. I walk for my health, so I can always walk. I said my legs are ugly, but they are the ones I have and I will take care of them. I still want to do a lot of legal work.

The walk won the admiration of Valeria and many people in 2025. According to Strava, the main platform for active people, which has about 18 million members in more than 190 countries, it was the second most played sport of the year by users, after only running.

According to Strava, racing has maintained its lead for the third year in a row as the app’s main sport globally, with events on the rise – in Brazil, this is the second year in a row. Soon, quickly, comes the walk. This method “overcame prejudice”, and grew and surpassed cycling globally and in Brazil.

– This tells us something powerful about the direction movement culture is headed. More and more people are using Strava for a variety of activities, whether that’s training for an ultramarathon, achieving a daily goal, or even walking the dog. They all choose movement and community – analyzes Louisa Wei, Marketing Director at Strava. The important thing is that walking has become something people do with pride, not with excuses. The cultural shift we are seeing, where daily walking has as much legitimacy as running exercise, is creating the foundation for long-term participation in physical activity.

This data is part of Strava’s annual Sports Trends report (Year of Sports 2025), which outlines the global physical activity landscape. This is the 12th edition, which included analysis of billions of activities from the global Strava community, along with survey data from over 30,000 people (Strava users and non-Strava users).

Welcome is the difference

According to the report, more than half of Strava users (54%) track multiple activities, including walking. Strava users with more than a year of active streak are four times more likely to have logged 3 or more types of sports in the past year, proving that variety can be key to consistency.

For Louisa, the increase in multiple sports is one of the most interesting trends when analyzing the data. She “absolutely believes this correlates with long-term participation in the movement.”

One activity feeds the other, which means you’re less likely to hit a block because you have options, she says. We also see people using different sports for different needs. An intense race for an endorphin rush. Walking to relieve stress. Pedal to explore. This is not “cross-training” in the traditional sense, but rather people shaping the movement around their lives. And not the other way around.

However, people still find it difficult to start a new sport. This is because 24% more women than men say they are not sure how to start a new sport. In Brazil, this percentage is much lower: 7%.

According to the survey, expensive equipment, an intense rhythm, and a culture full of jargon and inside jokes explain why. Skiing, snowboarding, cycling, mountain biking, and CrossFit are some of the most “scariest” sports.

The number of people seeking to walk into the group’s monthly meetings has increased, says Pedro Caetano, one of the organizers of Arte e Corre Crew, from Rio de Janeiro.

According to him, these people “don’t pray on foot, they pray by trying to run.” And so, crew He proposes short runs of up to 4 km, and selects athletes to accompany them.

— and increased mainly due to reception. When you walk, you have the feeling that “I will never belong to the group, I will be behind the group.” But we always have a vision to be together. We are looking more and more at those who are walking, and those who are just starting – says Pedro.

He explains that the group realizes that walking is part of the race but knows that those who walk still feel ashamed because of the “judgments.”

The function of these ongoing groups is to welcome, encourage and accompany. Therefore, those who walk feel more comfortable in these groups.

Anyone who thinks that the majority on Strava consider themselves to be at peak fitness is wrong. Data from Runna, a running training app acquired by Strava, reveals that the majority of users classify their fitness as beginner (26%) or intermediate (34%).

Moreover, the number of running clubs has quadrupled: there are more than a million clubs. The increase in trail clubs was 5.8 times. In the case of operating clubs, the increase was 3.5 times.