GpxFix Blog
Why Some Are Changing Moving Time To Match Elapsed Time
By Roy Lachica on . Last updated .
The use of Moving Time vs. Elapsed Time is a highly debated topic in the Strava community. These two metrics may seem similar at a glance, but they can tell very different stories about your performance, training progress, or the nature of your activities. Whether you're a seasoned athlete, weekend warrior, or just starting your fitness journey, knowing when to use each metric can help you better interpret your data and set meaningful goals.
What Are Moving Time and Elapsed Time?
At its core, the difference between Moving Time and Elapsed Time is simple—but the implications are not.
- Moving Time: This is the amount of time during which your GPS device detects motion. If you stop at a red light that time is typically excluded from your Moving Time.
- Elapsed Time: This is the full duration from when you started your activity to when you ended it, regardless of whether you were moving or not.
Read more about the differences.
So, Which One Is Right for You?
Both metrics are valuable—but their relevance depends on your goals, context, and how you define “performance”. Your use of Strava or other fitness apps is your choice.
For Untrained or Casual Individuals
If you’re just getting started on your fitness journey, participating in a movement challenge, or simply aiming to live a more active lifestyle, Elapsed Time might be the better choice for you to focus on.
Let’s say your goal is to walk or jog for 30 minutes a day. During that time, you may stop to tie your shoes, catch your breath, or answer a message. Elapsed Time will capture the full commitment you've made to that activity, regardless of interruptions.
For those who are untrained or not aiming for performance metrics like pace or split time, Elapsed Time offers a more complete and forgiving reflection of your effort. It tells you how long you were out there trying, not just how far you moved on the map.
If for example you’re combining walking with other activities like heavy outdoor work you probably want the Moving Time to reflect your time being active. Moving Time may underrepresent your actual effort. In this case, tools like GpxFix can help by aligning your Moving Time with your Elapsed Time to reflect Active Time.
Some organizers of beginner-friendly challenges such as the Norwegian Bike to Work Challenge—offer automatic Strava sync features that import your activity data. However, this sync reads only your Strava Moving Time. While other participants who log their activities manually can enter their full Elapsed Time, the sync feature will penalize users by logging only the reduced Moving Time. The same challenge lets users log any kind of training.
Imagine one person is attending a beginner Judo class and spends half the session sitting in the dojo observing black belts, yet logs 90 minutes of activity. Meanwhile, another person goes for a brisk 90-minute walk, but due to poor GPS reception between tall buildings, Strava only records 80 minutes of Moving Time. This discrepancy can feel unfair—and it highlights a valid reason to use a tool like GpxFix to adjust Moving Time to match Elapsed Time, ensuring the activity reflects the full effort and time invested.
For Traditional Sports and Endurance Athletes
If you’re a trained runner, cyclist, swimmer, or triathlete, and your training involves steady motion and split-based analysis, Moving Time is the better metric. It allows you to measure your actual time in motion, which is crucial when comparing efforts, analyzing pace, or assessing performance across sessions.
In these traditional sports, pauses usually aren't a core part of the activity, and therefore Moving Time more accurately reflects the athlete’s true training effort. Elapsed Time would add noise to your metrics, especially if you’re looking to hit specific speed or heart rate zones.
When it comes to participating in races, the context is completely different. In a competition setting, your official time typically starts when you cross the start line and ends when you cross the finish line, regardless of any breaks you take in between. If you need to stop for a bathroom break mid-race, that time counts against you, as expected. Most people will learn to visit the toilet beforehand next time, and this is how we improve our race time. On Strava, this logic is reflected when you change the activity type to “Race”. Doing so automatically switches the metric from Moving Time to Elapsed Time, aligning more closely with how races are actually timed.
For Hybrid and Functional Training
Hybrid training, such as CrossFit, obstacle course racing (OCR) E.g. Spartan Races, bootcamps, and functional fitness blurs the line between cardio and strength training. These sessions often include both intense movement and stationary exercises (e.g., burpees, lifting sandbags, climbing walls) that GPS won’t recognize as movement.
In these cases, Moving Time can be very misleading. Strava’s algorithm will consider you “still” even though you're working hard. According to Strava’s documentation, periods of non-movement are excluded—even if your heart rate could be maxing out.
For example, in a Spartan Race where you stop to do 20 burpees every 400 meters, your effort remains high, but Strava will not count that time toward Moving Time. The result? Skewed paces and underreported effort.
That’s where tools like GpxFix come in. We let you redefine your activity’s Moving Time to match Elapsed Time, providing a more meaningful representation of your workout as Active Time.
For hybrid athletes, Elapsed Time is often the better choice—or at least a necessary reference point—to ensure the metrics reflect the full scope of the workout.
Heart Rate Doesn’t Always Save You
One of the frustrations some athletes face is that Strava doesn’t factor in heart rate when calculating Moving Time. You could be drenched in sweat, pushing through a circuit workout with a heart rate at 170 bpm, and still see your Moving Time reduced simply because GPS doesn’t detect motion.
This underscores the need to match the right metric to your activity type. Don’t blindly trust the numbers—interpret them within context.
Quick Guide: When to Use Each Metric
| Scenario | Use Moving Time | Use Elapsed Time |
|---|---|---|
| Road Running / Cycling | ✅ | ❌ |
| Obstacle Course Racing | ❌ | ✅ |
| Interval Training (e.g. hill sprints, circuits) | ❌ | ✅ along with HR data |
| Daily Movement Challenges | ❌ | ✅ |
| Race Performance Analysis | ✅ | ❌ |
| Race day, competition | ❌ | ✅ |
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, the metric you choose should support your goals and represent your effort. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, just a more informed way to track your progress.
For most people, the two metrics complement each other and together provide a more complete picture of the activity.
If you’re untrained and building habits, use Elapsed Time. If you’re training for a PR, use Moving Time. And if your activity isn’t fully represented by either—consider using external tools to make the data fit your reality.
Remember: movement isn’t just about steps or pace. It’s about consistency, effort, and intention.
Are you using GpxFix to change Moving Time to Elapsed Time? Mention GpxFix in your Strava activity and share your story.