The Potential of Non-Mega Sporting Events for the Promotion of Physical Activity Among Inactive Supporters at the Poznan Half Marathon: A Case Study

Personality of marathon runners: a narrative review of recent findings

Participation in marathons has dramatically increased over the last few years. Marathon running has many proven beneficial effects, especially on cardiovascular health and fitness. Most research has focused on physiologic and pathophysiologic adaptations in connection with endurance exercise. Nevertheless, marathon running also has a major impact on psychological aspects and positively influences mental health, which has only recently attracted research interest. The present narrative review aimed to review the personality traits of marathon runners with an emphasis on recent literature. Marathon runners show a distinct personality and highly characteristic personality traits needed to successfully finish such a demanding race, i.e., a strong sense of vigor, self-sufficiency, and intelligence as well as low scores in anger, fatigue, tension, and depression. Furthermore, personality differences are detectable between runners of different sexes, ages, and performance level groups. This has significant clinical implications for athletes, coaches and competition organizers, as these groups show different patterns of personality traits. Future studies should focus on changes in cognition and mood states pre-, during, and post-endurance events, as well as during training periods. Large-scale studies comparing personality differences by sex, age, and performance are also important for better clinical guidance. See also the graphical abstract(Fig. 1).

The Impact of Water Sporting Events on Attitudes Toward Physical Activity: Motivational Profiles of Participants in Modern and Traditional Water Events

The aim of this paper was to analyze the relationship between attitudes toward physical activity and participation in water sports events and to recognize the main motives for involvement in these kinds of events. A written paper-pencil diagnostic survey was conducted among 394 participants in two traditional and two modern sports events on water held in Poland to ascertain whether innovative (modern) events are needed in society, and whether they cause an increase in interest in physical activity (more than traditional events). The research results showed that modern sports events on water did not have any more power to attract physically inactive people than traditional water events, did not produce a greater desire to lead an active lifestyle, and did not encourage people to more regularly practice water sports. Moreover, modern events, compared to traditional events, were only a one-time experience and the people who completed survey often wanted to return to traditional sports events which provided participants with greater positive emotions than a modern event. In the case of socio-demographical variables, there was no statistically significant relationship between gender and choice of modern or traditional event, but older people were more likely to choose a traditional event than younger people; modern water events were an attractive option primarily for young people under 30 years of age, furthermore, modern events more often attracted people who had completed higher education. However, it turned out that a modern event on water often attracted more people who had had no experience in this sport discipline rather than people who chose traditional water events. In a sense, modern events are therefore effective in promoting water sports in Polish society. We also distinguished five main groups of participants: healthy lifestyle managers, lovers of sports emotions, water sports malcontents, water sports enthusiasts, and neutrals to water sports. Additionally, we looked into gender-related motives for participation in modern and traditional water events: social and health-related motives proved to be more important for women and men who participated in modern water events. The research results presented in the article expand on the current state of knowledge about mass participation in sport, the impact of sporting events on the promotion of physical activity, and show the motivation behind participation in modern and traditional water sporting events.

Diversified Talent Cultivation Mechanism of Early Childhood Physical Education Under the Full-Practice Concept - Oriented by Preschooler Mental Health and Intelligent Teaching

In order to improve early childhood physical education, in this study, the talent cultivation mechanism for undergraduates was explored under the "full-practice" concept, oriented by preschooler mental health. First, from the perspective of preschooler psychology, the mechanisms of ability training and talent cultivation for undergraduates majoring in early childhood education were explored under the "full-practice" concept. Considering that the physical, psychological, and intellectual development of preschoolers shall follow the rules of physical education, and current early childhood education mainly focuses on intelligence education in China, early childhood physical education was analyzed further in this study. By investigating the undergraduate majors of early childhood education in Henan University, this study first summarized the current problems in early childhood education systems in universities. Secondly, combined with the form of physical education in kindergartens, strategies for talent cultivation and curriculum setting of early childhood physical education majors in colleges and universities were proposed. Finally, from the perspective of innovation and diversification of training forms, the cultivation of early childhood educators' physical education ability was analyzed at multiple levels and multiple objectives, and the integrated training system of early childhood education talents was constructed. The results show that, among all the courses for early childhood education major, compulsory courses account for 81.2% and optional courses account for 18.8%. In addition, a survey on undergraduates' attitudes toward the curriculum of their major demonstrates that 81.2% of the undergraduates thought that the range and content of practical courses should be increased, indicating that undergraduates majoring in early childhood education are dissatisfied with the current curriculum system, and they have an increased demand for practical courses. Correspondingly, it is vital to build and improve on the early childhood physical education. In terms of its talent cultivation, the "full-practice" concept helps combine theory with practice to improve the effectiveness of education and teaching, pushing forward the reform of the education system. Meanwhile, data- and intelligence-oriented teaching will become the new direction of modern sports development, as well as an important link for tracking and monitoring children's sports teaching in China. Through the continuous introduction of wearable artificial intelligence (AI) products, real-time monitoring of children's physical conditions can be realized, which helps improve the effectiveness of early childhood physical education.

Conditions under Which Trickle-Down Effects Occur: A Realist Synthesis Approach

Policy makers often legitimize bids for major sport events and public funding of elite sports by trickle-down effects, suggesting that hosting events, sporting success, and athlete role models inspire the population to participate themselves in sport and physical activity. According to previous review articles, empirical evidence of trickle-down effects are mixed, with several studies citing marginal or no effect. The purpose of this study is to apply a realist synthesis approach to evaluate under which conditions trickle-down effects occur (i.e., what works for whom under which circumstances?). Using rapid evidence assessment methodology, 58 empirical articles were identified in the search process and critically analyzed through the lens of realist synthesis evaluation. The analysis identified six conditions under which trickle-down effects have occurred: Event leveraging initiatives, capacity of community sport to cater for new participants, live spectating experiences, consumption possibilities on television or other media, and communities housing event venues. The findings have implications for the sustainability of sport policy decisions and public finance, as the likelihood of trickle-down effects increases with integrated planning and sustainable spending related to the above six conditions.

Overtourism and Medium Scale Sporting Events Organisations—the Perception of Negative Externalities by Host Residents

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of non-mega sporting events on the perception of negative externalities of host residents. The detailed aim of the study was to examine whether the inhabitants of the city feel the negative effects of organizing sporting events (communication problems or inappropriate behavior of supporters) and do they believe that these events increase the level of crime in the city or, despite these inconveniences, they are satisfied with the organization of sporting events in their place of residence. The case study is the city of Poznan and two, well-known events in this agglomeration. The first one is the Poznan Half Marathon—medium scale mass event, the second one is Cavaliada—elite international equestrian event. The theoretical part of this article presents the meaning of sporting events organization for tourism industry and indicates the positive and negative effects this kind of tourism brings to host cities. The whole refers to the theoretical foundations of the term of “overtourism”. The second part of the manuscript presents empirical research results, between 774 active and passive participants, which was conducted by the method of diagnostic survey. The results of this research show that both athletes as well as fans of the Half Marathon said that the Poznan Half Marathon event causes bothersome communication problems in the city and some other social problems. The inhabitants only experience minor inconveniences that felt as a result of organizing sporting events in the city. The negative impact of Cavaliada was very low. For checking the differences between the two examined groups of respondents: Half Marathon fans and Cavaliada fans, Chi-square test and U Mann Whitney’s test was used. The participants feel bothersome communication problems that cause the Half Marathon and have an average level of dissatisfaction higher than the average level of dissatisfaction of Cavaliada participants. Moreover, the participants in the Half Marathon have an average level of satisfaction with the organization of sports events in Poznan significantly lower than the average level of satisfaction of Cavaliada participants. Therefore, an elite equestrian sporting event is less burdensome for its residents and gives them more satisfaction.

Difficulties Limiting Access to Sports and Recreational Facilities in the City in the Perceptions of Service Users. Sports and Recreational Infrastructure Management Policy-Poznan Case Study

The range of sports and recreation facilities' offer should be very wide in order for all social groups of the examined environment to have access to sports and recreation facilities. Therefore, Poznan City Hall should take into account all difficulties that limit the access to these facilities when preparing management policy of sports and recreation infrastructure and its functioning. That is why the main goal of this study is to recognize difficulties limiting the access to sports and recreation facilities in this city. The research carried out at indoor tennis courts (16 facilities), indoor swimming polls (12 facilities) and fitness clubs (11 facilities) in Poznan covered 1159 service recipients (using the services of a given sports and recreation facility). The author-constructed questionnaire addressed to the service recipients (residents of the city of Poznan who use the services offered at the examined sports and recreation facilities). Furthermore, the service recipients were divided into a group of people doing sports competitively and a group of recipients who have never practiced sports as professional athletes. The validated questionnaire sent to the examined service recipients included suggestions of difficulties that may limit the access to sports and recreation facilities in the city of Poznan. Further analysis of the importance of difficulties that limit the access to sports and recreation facilities may allow indicating the reason why recreational activity of residents is limited. A lower level of satisfaction and thus a lower rating of the respondents was obtained by a set of features constituting, according to the respondents, difficulties limiting the access to the use of sports and recreation facilities (high prices and too great of a distance of the sports and recreation facility from the place of residence).

Do Years of Running Experience Influence the Motivations of Amateur Marathon Athletes?

The aim of the study was to investigate if years of running experience influence the motivations of marathon athletes. An empirical study was conducted during the last (20th) PKO Poznan Marathon, one of the largest and most popular mass running events in Poland, which was held in Poznan (Poland) in October 2019. A total of 493 marathon runners (29% of whom were female, and 71% of whom were male) took part in the cross-sectional study, which used the diagnostic survey method. The questionnaire employed the division of motives from the motivation of marathoners scale (MOMS) by Masters et al., adapted to the Polish language by Dybala. Running motivations have already been analysed for variables such as age, gender and place of residence, but there is a research gap regarding existing research, as the relationship between motivations and running experience has not yet been studied. One-way analysis of variance for independent samples was used to verify statistical hypotheses. Prior to making the relevant calculations, the assumption of homogeneity of variance was checked via Levene's test. Variances were assessed with an F-test, and if they were unequal, Welch's correction was applied. Eta squared (η²) was used as a measure of effect size. The calculations carried out showed that running experience was not a statistically significant factor in the motivations of runners taking part in a marathon.

The Impact of Modern Ultramarathons on Shaping the Social Identity of Runners. The Case Study of Karkonosze Winter Ultramarathon

Despite the growing interest in extreme sports around the world, researchers have rarely investigated the complex factors that have led to a developed commitment to extreme sports in recent years. Precisely, the social identity of ultramarathoners remains a research niche. The aim of the article is to analyze the impact of a sports event on shaping social identity of ultramarathon runners on the example of Karkonosze Winter Ultramarathon (held in Poland). The qualitative method used in the article—interviews with runners—made it possible to examine the factors that create social identity, among which the motives for participation, sports subculture, and the authenticity of the experience play a key role. The first part of the article describes the theoretical aspects of social identity in sport. The second, empirical part presents the research results supplemented by the statements of the contestants. In this case, the subject of analysis is the motives for participation in a winter ultramarathon and their characteristics. Lastly, the article analyzes the subculture of ultramarathoners and the experience of contestants’ authenticity. The investigated winter ultramarathon created the perfect space for creation, deepening and celebrating the social identity of ultramarathoners assessed as a value in itself. The article enriches the present knowledge about the motivation of ultramarathoners because, unlike the results of quantitative research, it presents in-depth responses of runners who were not always concerned by existing research questionnaires.

Increased Physical Activity in Preparation for a Women-Only Mass Participation Sport Event: A Framework for Estimating the Health Impact

Mass participation sporting events (MPSEs) are increasing in popularity. However, little research exists into the potential value of these events for improving public health by enhancing physical activity (PA). The aim of this study is to estimate the health impact of increased physical activity as a result of preparing for an MPSE. Participants of a mass participation women-only running event were asked if they performed additional PA in preparation of the event, including the length (weeks) and intensity (min per week). Additionally, self-reported change in health status was evaluated. Based on these results, we have developed a framework for estimating the cumulatively gained quality adjusted life years (QALYs) and monetary value thereof. Of the respondents (N = 468; mean age 42.3 ± 11.9 years), 32% performed additional vigorous PA in preparation of the event, with an average of 63 min per week over 8.8 weeks. Performing additional vigorous PA significantly improved the odds of self-rated health. The estimated total health impact of participants preparing for the Marikenloop was 6.6 QALYs gained with a corresponding monetary value between EUR 133,000 and EUR 532,000. We believe our health impact framework helps to understand that MPSEs can be a notable part of the public health domain.

Male and Female Motivations for Participating in a Mass Cycling Race for Amateurs. The Skoda Bike Challenge Case Study

The purpose of our research was twofold: to investigate the motivations for participating in a mass cycling event for amateurs and the motivational differences between men and women in cycling. This empirical study involving 385 cyclists was conducted during the fifth edition of the Skoda Bike Challenge held in Poznań in 2018. The event forms part of the UCI Gran Fondo World Series of events organized around the world, which are sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). A diagnostic survey method with a standardized interviewing technique was used to interview cyclists. The interview questionnaire was divided according to the MPAM-R scale (Motives for Physical Activity Measure–Revised). This scale assesses people’s motives for participating in physical activities. The following motivations were examined: appearance, fitness, social, competence/challenge, and enjoyment. Descriptive statistics were used. A chi-square test was used to determine characteristics between responses. Cramer’s φ for statistically significant scores was indicated. The research results show some differences between male and female motives for competitive amateur cycling. Statistically significant differences were found between the following motives: interest/enjoyment, competence/challenge, and fitness. This is important information from the point of view of promoting cycling and for organizers of cycling events in regions wishing to promote sports tourism as a form of sustainable development. An understanding of mass cycling motivations is needed, as such knowledge can be used to encourage cycling, which has a potentially positive effect on future cyclists’ physical and mental health. Learning about cycling motivations also allows us to determine which physical and mental health functions are fulfilled by mass sporting events and how to prepare for them. The motives for participating in mass cycling events for amateurs in Europe constitute an interesting field of research. The first part of the paper presents the literature review related to cycling in the context of motivations, sporting events, tourism, event management, and sustainable development, and the second part presents the results of our empirical study.