Pace is showing as too fast when I import runs where I pressed pause from Runkeeper

[Robmaxim]

Hi everyone,

I use Runkeeper to track my runs (because I like that it tells me my average pace every mile), and then push them to Strava using RunGap.

I’ve noticed that on runs where I press pause during the run (e.g. if I’m stopped waiting for a traffic light), when I push the run from Runkeeper to Strava, the pace on Strava is significantly faster than on Runkeeper. Moreover, the longer I’m paused during the run, the larger the discrepancy is between the two.

When I do a run where I don’t stop at all, the times are exactly the same. If I only stop for a couple of seconds, usually the discrepancy is only a second or two per mile. But on runs where I need to stop for longer (e.g. if I’m running downtown and have to stop every couple blocks for traffic lights), the discrepancy can get quite large—I’ve had it as large as 50 seconds per mile on some runs. In every case, Strava shows me running faster than Runkeeper, and I know the Runkeeper pace is the correct one.

I’ve seen others bring up a similar issue when pushing runs from Apple Workout, but haven’t seen a solution for runs pushed from Runkeeper.

For what it’s worth, I keep auto-pause off on Strava, though that shouldn’t be a factor here since I’m not tracking the runs on Strava.

Device-wise, I use an Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen) to track my runs.

Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!

[Robmaxim]

Hi thanks for replying here. I just checked, and the issue is actually that Strava recalculates both the moving time and elapsed time and makes them both too low.

For example, a run I did this morning (which required several fairly long stops to wait for traffic lights), which showed a moving time of 28:39 on Runkeeper and Apple Fitness, but a moving time of 28:02 on Strava. 

The elapsed time was closer, but still different on Strava, showing 32:56 on Runkeeper and Apple Fitness, and 32:51 on Strava.

I’d like to find a solution beyond just not pressing pause when I stop. I live near a couple major roads and it’s not practical for me to not press pause without really messing up my pacing data.

[anchskier]

Sounds like Strava is importing your moving time and not your elapsed time.  A simple way to avoid that problem is to just not pause your watch when you stop.  If you are really looking for the average pace of the run that includes the stops, then there doesn't seem to be a need to pause the watch when you are stopped.