How to Organize Your Strava Club Like a Pro

Key Takeaways: 

• Find races and club meet-ups under Groups > Events, filtered by distance, date, location, sport, temperature, and tags

• See how many athletes are already training for a race with Runna before committing your club to it

• Create a Runna training plan built for your chosen race, with two free weeks for new users

• Host Club Events with date, workout, route, and meet-up details all in one place

• Use post-event stats to track turnout and set your club's next goal

• Share event photos and run polls in Club Messages to keep members engaged between events

• Set events to "discoverable" (with optional capping) to attract new members through Strava's event search

More people are leaning into social connection. The total number of Strava Clubs nearly quadrupled last year, climbing to over 1 million, with run clubs alone growing 3.5x. If you're one of the admins behind that growth, you already know the real work: keeping people motivated, planning what's next, and giving your crew a reason to show up again next week.

Here's how to make it easier.

1. Give your club something to train for

Motivation gets a lot easier when there's a date on the calendar. Gen Z runners are 75% more likely than Gen X to say a race or event is their main motivation to train, and it turns out that's true for clubs, not just individuals. A shared goal – a local 5K, a relay, a first half marathon – turns a group chat into a training block.

The good news: you don't have to go hunting for that goal anymore. Head to Groups > Events, to find upcoming club meet-ups near you and a catalog of tens of thousands of races from around the world, sourced from Runna's global database. Filter by distance, date, location, sport, temperature, and tags to find the right race for your crew, from a flat local 5K to a mountain ultra.

Every race card shows how many other athletes have already built a Runna training plan for that event, so your club can see the momentum building before you even sign up. Tap a race to see the full details, then tap "Train with Runna" for a plan built specifically for it. Already a Runna subscriber? You'll go straight to plan creation. New to Runna? You'll get two free weeks to try it out.

2. Make it easy for people to say yes

The best club goals are the ones people can actually plan around. Once you've picked a race, set a training block, or just settled on your regular meet-up, host a training session as a Club Event with the date, workout and/or route, and details all in one place, so nobody's asking "wait, where are we meeting?" three days before.

3. Keep the momentum going after race day

A pro admin doesn't let the energy drop once the event's over. Use your post-event stats to see who showed up and how it went, then use that to set the next goal. Every goal ends somewhere, make sure your club already knows where that somewhere is. Use channels in Club Messages for people to share and download the best pictures from your event. Or use the polling feature in Club Messages to ask your Club what they plan to train for next, or where the group's getting food after Saturday's run (hot dogs, burritos, pizza or sushi? What will win?!)

4. Let discovery do some of the recruiting for you

Growing a club used to mean word of mouth and a lot of patience. Now, you can set your Club events to “discoverable” and allow anyone to join you for your next event. You can even use event capping to ensure your event stays manageable. Local events are surfaced alongside Races under Groups > Events so active people looking for their next race are more likely to find your club along the way. Someone searching for a local 5K might just find their new Tuesday night crew in the process.

Do it all right from Strava, at no cost to you. Head to the Groups tab, tap Events, and see what's waiting for your club this fall.

Want to learn more about what it takes to organize your club like a pro? Explore the Organizer Hub: strava.com/club-organizers.