How to Import Your Strava Races Automatically (Complete Guide)

You have hundreds of activities in Strava. Maybe thousands. Years of runs, workouts, races—all logged automatically from your GPS watch. That’s the beauty of Strava: it just captures everything.

But it’s also the problem. When you want to track your race history specifically, you’re staring at an activity feed where every race is buried among training runs. Finding, extracting, and organizing your races manually feels impossible.

The good news: you don’t have to do it manually. If you’re using RunningLog, you can connect your Strava account and automatically import your race activities—without re-entering a single result.

Here’s the complete guide to connecting Strava to RunningLog, automatically importing races, and keeping your race history in sync going forward.

Why Automatic Import Matters

If you have more than a handful of races in your Strava history, manual entry is the enemy of getting started. You open a new race tracking tool, see the empty state, mentally calculate how long it would take to enter 30+ races by hand, and close the tab.

That’s not procrastination—it’s a reasonable response to a genuine friction point.

Automatic import removes that friction. Instead of an hour of data entry before you can start using a race tracker, you spend five minutes connecting Strava and have your race history ready to go.

What Actually Gets Imported

When you import a Strava activity as a race, the following data transfers automatically:

• Race date and start time
• Distance (with automatic conversion to standard race distances)
• Finish time (moving time or elapsed time)
• Activity title (becomes the race name, editable)
• Location data (when available)
• Average pace

What you add after import (the race-specific context Strava doesn’t capture):

• A/B/C goals you set for the race
• Race-specific notes and memories
• Status (completed, DNF, DQ)
• Official race name (if activity title wasn’t descriptive)

Before You Start: Preparing Your Strava Account

The cleaner your Strava activities, the smoother the import. A few minutes of preparation saves time later.

Tag Your Races in Strava

Strava lets you mark activities as “Race” in the workout type field. If you’ve done this consistently, import becomes easy—you can filter to just your race activities.

If you haven’t tagged races consistently, now’s the time:

1. Go to your Strava activity feed
2. Find each race activity
3. Click edit on the activity
4. Under “Workout Type,” select “Race”
5. Save

This takes time if you have years of history, but you only need to do it once. And it improves your Strava experience too—Strava uses the race tag for its own analytics.

Clean Up Activity Names

Strava activities often have generic names like “Morning Run” or “Sunday Long Run.” For races, update the title to the actual race name:

• “Morning Run” → “Chicago Marathon 2023”
• “Saturday Race” → “Philadelphia Half Marathon”
• “Long run” → “Boston Marathon 2024”

Your race tracking tool will import whatever title is in Strava, so accurate names save editing time later.

Verify Activity Privacy Settings

For RunningLog to access your activities, they need to be visible to the app. Public or “Followers” activities typically sync fine. Private activities may require specific permissions.

Check your Strava privacy settings:

1. Settings → Privacy Controls
2. Review “Activities” visibility
3. Adjust if needed for race activities you want to import

Step-by-Step: Connecting Strava to RunningLog

Step 1: Create Your RunningLog Account

Go to runninglog.app/register and sign up. The fastest option is “Start Free with Google”—one click and you’re in.

After registration, you’ll land on the welcome/onboarding page.

Step 2: Navigate to Strava Integration

In your RunningLog dashboard, find the Strava integration option. It’s typically in one of:

• Settings → Integrations
• Profile → Connected Apps
• Import Races → Strava

Click “Connect Strava” or “Authorize Strava.”

Step 3: Authorize RunningLog on Strava

You’ll be redirected to Strava’s authorization page. Strava asks whether you want to grant RunningLog access to your activity data.

Review the permissions requested:

• Read activities: Required to see your race data
• Read profile: Required to identify your account

These are standard permissions for any Strava integration. RunningLog only reads your data—it doesn’t post, modify, or delete your Strava activities.

Click “Authorize” to grant access.

Step 4: Wait for Initial Sync

After authorization, RunningLog begins fetching your Strava activity data. Depending on how many activities you have, this can take anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes.

You don’t need to stay on the page—the sync happens in the background. You’ll be notified when it’s complete.

Step 5: Review Detected Races

Once sync completes, RunningLog shows you activities tagged as races in Strava. These are candidates for import.

For each detected race, you’ll see:

• Date
• Activity title (will become race name)
• Distance
• Finish time
• Import checkbox

Review the list and uncheck any activities that aren’t actually races (workouts tagged as races, duplicate activities, etc.).

Step 6: Confirm Import

Click “Import Selected” to add the races to your RunningLog race history. Each race becomes an entry in your log.

The import is fast—even 50+ races typically import in seconds.

Step 7: Review and Add Context

Imported races have the basic data (date, distance, time, location). Now you add the race-specific context Strava doesn’t capture:

• Official race name (if different from activity title)
• Goals you had for the race
• Notes about the race experience
• Status corrections (mark any DNFs)

You don’t have to do this all at once. Add context to recent or important races first, then fill in others over time.

Troubleshooting Common Import Issues

“I Don’t See My Races in the Import List”

Most common cause: activities aren’t tagged as “Race” in Strava.

Solution: Go to Strava, edit each race activity, set workout type to “Race,” and save. Then trigger a re-sync in RunningLog.

Alternative: Some import tools let you manually select non-tagged activities. Check if RunningLog offers this option.

“The Distance is Wrong”

Strava records the actual distance covered, which often differs slightly from official race distance. A marathon might show as 26.35 miles or 42.45 km instead of exactly 26.2 miles or 42.2 km.

This happens because GPS tracks your actual path (including weaving, tangents, etc.) rather than the official course distance.

Solution: After import, edit the race and set the distance to the official race distance. RunningLog has standard distance options (5K, 10K, half marathon, marathon, etc.) that you can select.

“The Finish Time is Wrong”

GPS-recorded times can differ from official chip times:

• You started your watch before/after crossing the start line
• You stopped your watch at/after the finish line
• GPS signal loss caused time discrepancies

Solution: After import, edit the finish time to match your official chip time (from the race timing company). The Strava import gives you a starting point; official results give you accuracy.

“A Training Run Got Imported as a Race”

If you accidentally tagged a workout as “Race” in Strava, it’ll appear in the import list.

Solution: Either skip it during import (uncheck the box) or delete it from RunningLog after import. Then untag it in Strava to prevent future sync issues.

“The Authorization Failed”

If the Strava connection doesn’t complete:

• Check that you’re logged into the correct Strava account
• Verify Strava’s API isn’t experiencing outages
• Try a different browser or disable ad blockers
• Disconnect and reconnect from both sides

“My Old Races Aren’t Syncing”

Strava’s API has some limits on how far back it returns data. Typically, recent years sync reliably, but very old activities (5+ years) might have gaps.

Solution: For races older than the sync can retrieve, you may need to add them manually. Strava still has the data on their website—you can reference the activity details while entering the race in RunningLog.

Keeping Races in Sync Going Forward

After the initial bulk import, the real value is automatic sync for future races. Here’s how it works.

Automatic Sync After Each Race

With Strava connected, every new activity you tag as a race in Strava becomes available to import into RunningLog. The typical workflow:

1. Finish your race
2. Your GPS watch syncs to Strava automatically
3. You edit the Strava activity: rename it, tag as race
4. RunningLog detects the new race activity
5. You confirm import (usually one-click)
6. Add goals and notes in RunningLog

Total time from finish line to fully logged race: under 10 minutes.

Race Day Best Practices

To make race day syncing smooth:

• Start your watch at the start line (or as close as possible)
• Stop your watch at the finish line (for accurate elapsed time)
• Sync your watch to Strava immediately after
• Update the Strava activity title to the race name
• Tag as “Race” in workout type
• Import to RunningLog within a day or two (while memories are fresh)

Adding Official Chip Time

Strava records your watch time. Official results use chip time (the time from when you crossed the start line to when you crossed the finish line, based on timing mats).

For most races, chip time is the “official” time you want in your race log. After import, update the finish time from GPS to chip time.

Most races email chip time results within 24-48 hours of the race.

What About Races Not in Strava?

Not every race will be in your Strava account:

• Older races from before you used Strava
• Races where your GPS watch failed
• Races you forgot to start tracking
• Races from before GPS tracking was common

For these, you’ll need to add manually. It’s a small percentage of most runners’ race history, and the manual entry is straightforward:

1. Click “Add Race” in RunningLog
2. Enter date, distance, time, location
3. Add goals and notes
4. Save

Takes about 60 seconds per race.

Advanced: Using Strava Segments for Race Context

After import, you can reference the original Strava activity for additional context that RunningLog doesn’t need to duplicate:

• Detailed splits
• Heart rate data
• Elevation profile
• Segment PRs within the race

Strava remains the source of truth for detailed analytics. RunningLog is the source of truth for race history, progression, and goal tracking.

Privacy and Data Considerations

What RunningLog Accesses

When you connect Strava, RunningLog requests permission to read your activity data. Specifically:

• Activity dates, distances, times
• Activity titles and descriptions
• Workout types (to identify races)
• Basic profile information

What RunningLog Does Not Do

• Does not post to Strava on your behalf
• Does not modify your Strava activities
• Does not delete Strava data
• Does not share your Strava data with third parties

Disconnecting Strava

If you ever want to disconnect Strava from RunningLog:

1. In RunningLog: Settings → Integrations → Disconnect Strava
2. On Strava: Settings → My Apps → Revoke RunningLog access

Races already imported stay in RunningLog. Future activities just won’t sync automatically.

Common Questions

“Will importing create duplicates if I already entered some races manually?”

Good systems check for duplicates based on date and distance. If you’ve already entered a race manually and then import the Strava version, you should get a duplicate warning. Review and choose which version to keep.

“Can I import from a Strava account that isn’t mine?”

No. Strava’s authorization only works for the account you log into. You can’t import your training partner’s races.

“What if I have multiple Strava accounts?”

You can only connect one Strava account to RunningLog at a time. If you have multiple accounts (training account, racing account, etc.), choose the one with your race history.

“Do I need a Strava Premium subscription?”

No. Strava’s free tier supports the API integration needed for RunningLog import. You don’t need to pay Strava for this to work.

“Will this slow down my Strava?”

No. Integrations use Strava’s API separately from your regular Strava usage. Your Strava app, website, and normal activity tracking continue to work exactly as before.

Why This Integration Matters

Automatic Strava import is the difference between “I’ll set up that race tracker eventually” and “my race history is already organized.”

The friction of manual data entry kills good intentions. You mean to set up race tracking properly. You know you should. But the thought of entering 50+ races manually keeps you in the “someday” mindset for years.

Connection-based import collapses that barrier. Five minutes of setup. A few minutes of review. You go from zero to fully organized race history in the same session.

And the ongoing value is even greater: every future race flows automatically from your GPS watch through Strava into your race log, with you just adding the race-specific context.

Getting Started

Ready to connect Strava and import your race history?

1. Create your RunningLog account (free)
2. Go to Settings → Integrations
3. Click “Connect Strava”
4. Authorize on Strava
5. Review detected races
6. Import
7. Add goals and notes to your imported races

Total time: typically 10-15 minutes for a complete race history import.

The Bottom Line

If you’ve been using Strava for years, your race history is already there—just buried among hundreds or thousands of training activities. Manual extraction is painful. Automatic import is the answer.

Connect Strava to RunningLog, let the integration pull your race activities, add the race-specific context (goals, notes, status), and you have a complete race history ready to use.

Your GPS watch has been capturing race data for years. Now put that data to work in a system built for tracking race history.

Connect Strava and import your race history in minutes. Start free with Google—the Strava integration is available to all users.

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