Buzz
When running or hiking solo, it’s crucial to inform someone about your route and estimated return time. Even better, apps featuring location sharing enable your partner or friend to track your real-time location. However, Strava’s Beacon feature takes this a step further, now accessible to free account users as well.
Other fitness apps also provide location tracking, each with unique features. For instance, Runtastic offers free tracking, but recipients must have the Runtastic app to view your location. Runkeeper allows sharing tracking details via text to non-users, though this requires a premium subscription.
While general location-sharing apps like Find My Friends only display your location and minimal details, Strava and similar apps recognize your activity—whether running, hiking, or cycling—and can inform your contacts accordingly. For example, if I share a Strava-tracked run with my husband, he can view details like:
The time I began my run
My current location
The distance I’ve traveled so far
Whether the run is actively being tracked or paused
The remaining battery life on my phone
These details can indicate if I might require assistance. For instance, if I’ve been stationary for an extended period without pausing the run, it could raise concerns. If he knows I planned a 10-mile run and I’m nearing mile eight, he can see I’m progressing as expected.
There are limitations, of course: If GPS signals are unavailable or there’s no cellular data in your area, tracking may not update. Additionally, Strava’s free Beacon feature is limited to phones and doesn’t support standalone devices like Apple Watch or Garmin (though Garmin offers its own location-sharing feature).
Using location-sharing apps for safety purposes
With Beacon or a similar service activated, you should still inform your trusted contact of your expected return time. However, if you don’t return, they can quickly locate you. If you’re in trouble and can send a text for help, your location will guide them to you. Even if you can’t communicate, they can check your last known location and duration there.
Every time I come across updates about location tracking features for runners, I’m reminded of that evening in 2012 when I took a wrong turn during a long trail run. As the sun dipped below the horizon and my phone’s battery dwindled, I found myself completely disoriented. Frantically, I called my husband, knowing I was near a road but unable to locate it. I managed to extract latitude and longitude coordinates from Google Maps, texted them to him, and waited as he deciphered my location using paper trail maps I’d left at home. Had I failed to get those coordinates or if my phone had died moments earlier, the outcome could have been drastically different.
That experience lingers in my mind every time I embark on a lengthy trail run. While I now rely on Google’s location sharing (unavailable back then), my next wilderness adventure will include activating Strava’s Beacon feature.
