My Strava profile is public for the sole reason that if someone clicks to it, I want them to see my PRs. That’s it. No other reason. If it was private, they couldn’t see my times. What’s the point of running if you’re not going to tell everyone your times?
Being public means not only can anyone see your times, but anyone can follow you, and thus comment on your activities. If you’re private, you have to approve followers.
Every now and then someone I don’t know will follow me. Sometimes we just ran the same race, or they follow literally thousands of people and are just clicking “follow” to every suggested person.
But I have one follower who, to my knowledge, I’ve never met and we share no mutual friends. Not that crazy, except for every now and then, they comment on my runs.
The latest example was my **ahem** most recent sub 5 mile (attempt). I ran 5:00.2, devastating. The follower is clearly confused seeing 4:55 pace (the watch isn’t perfectly synced) wondering how I didn’t run sub 5.
I don’t know this person. It’s weird to me that they are commenting. It’s the third or fourth thing in the past few months that they’ve commented on, and I don’t know what to do.
My options are:
- Block them – This feels ‘mean’ despite not knowing them.
- Engage – Reply nicely every time. This is what a wanna-be influencer would do.
- Ignore – Just never interact.
Maybe I’m too soft and the obvious answer is just blocking them. No part of me thinks “it’s 2026, this is normal now!“, and with the click of a button its solved and I will never see them again in my life. What could be the harm in that?
But it still feels bad to do that. Part of it is because I suspect someone who’s commenting like that probably isn’t the most socially aware person. They’re trying to be friendly and although they’re doing a weird job with it, the world might be a better place if we lightened up and entertained a bit more. I don’t believe that last sentence in this context, but the thought crosses my mind.
The lowest friction choice is ignoring. They’re happy to comment, I’m happy to not deal with any guilt of blocking, and life moves on. I don’t think taking the path of least resistance is a good mantra for life, but just like gambling or drinking too much, what’s the harm every now and then?
BREAKING NEWS: Man with public profile aghast when the public comments.
From the photo alone, you ran sub 5, then you comment that you didn’t. He’s insinuating you’re retarded, no?
He’s probably got his own blog, and he just posted, “this simp beta fishing for public comments about his sub 5”.
You should reply, “mile pace, like my girth, is over 5”, just for fun, and see what he says. Nothing like asserting dominance with a good ‘ol phallic reference.
THIS JUST IN: Man with public blog aghast when public comments.
If I want the pros of strangers seeing my times, I must accept the cons of strangers commenting. Life is about compromise, you are wise. Comments on the blog, however, are ALWAYS welcome.