People are paying "Strava mules" to do their runs for them, but why?!
If you've been scrolling through #RunTok recently, then you may well have stumbled across the latest (and strangest) trend in running: Strava mules. In a world where documenting your run for all to see can seem more important than actually doing the run, “mules” or “surrogates” have emerged to help runners secure Kudos and boost their stats without going out for the run themselves. Instead, a “mule” will be paid to go out and run in place of a paying Strava customer, while logged into their account. Yep, really.
I unearthed this secret side hustle after coming across Tiktokker and running creator Veljko’s confession video, claiming that he has been working as a Strava mule for over a year. ‘So basically somebody will pay me to run a race with their Strava account on my phone,’ he explained, adding that he sometimes takes clients’ phones or GPS watch with him, so that he can act as a mule to multiple people at once.
He shared that the idea isn’t that he runs as fast as he can, to beat his clients’ PBs or to get extra glory from their followers – most of his clients want a ‘slow mule’.
‘A common misconception is that everyone wants a fast mule, but I would say a good chunk of my clients want a slow mule and then the majority of the clients are just one-off muling experiences. They just want the glory for one day,’ he said.
Nonetheless, apparently some clients do ask that he takes a snap of his surroundings on the run, so that they can send updates to family and friends. After all, as the adage goes, photo or it didn’t happen.
Whether or not you believe Veljko’s claims, his video now has 105k likes – and he’s not the only one reportedly cashing in on the lucrative business.
Wahyu Wicaksono, 17, from Indonesia, told Channel News Asia he charges 10,000 rupiah (49p) per kilometre for running at a “Pace 4” (4:00 min/km), or 5,000 rupiah (25p) per kilometre for running at “Pace 8” (8:00 min/km). Wicaksono claims to advertise his services on X: ‘I am active on X and it is booming on there,’ he told CNA.
Another Indonesian teenager, Satria, 17, started a “Strava jockey” account @Satzzyy, advertising mule services at 25p per kilometre. If a client wants him to run at 4:00 min/km, he charges an additional £1.25 per kilometre for up to 10km.
Doesn’t sound like much money, we know, but according to Google, “Strava jockeys” first emerged in Indonesia, where the minimum monthly wage in Indonesia is around £100, so teenagers could make up to 5% of a monthly wage in one run.
As for everyone else, Veljko’s followers have proposed many a theory in the comments beneath his video. One wrote: ‘It’s people having an affair that need an alibi’, suggesting that people may use Strava mules as a way to lie to their partners. Another argued it's positive for motivation, writing: ‘Wait what? This is crazy! Good for keeping you running tho lmao.’
@sophjfitness captured the feeling of the general TikTok consensus in her own video, saying: ‘Apparently, people are paying other people to be their Strava mules and are giving them access to their Strava, then they’re going out and doing the runs for them as if it’s them.
‘So, they’re getting good time good distance because a really good runner is doing it for them.
‘It’s crazy, the lengths that people are going to keep up these fake appearances. But out of anywhere, I would think Strava would be a place where you wouldn’t have to question if someone’s done the run or not. You just wouldn’t think that’s a thing.
‘But yeah, just wild. It is very wild. I hope it doesn’t become a thing.’
Turns out, even if it didn’t happen, it might still be on Strava.
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