Sporting Habits of Urban Runners: Classification According to Their Motivation

Facilitators and constraints to adult sports participation: A systematic review

Despite the well-documented health, social and economic benefits of sports participation, adults' participation in organised sport declines as age increases. To date, no review has summarised the multi-level factors that influence adults' decisions to participate in sport. Therefore, this systematic literature review aimed to: 1) determine the facilitators, constraints and negotiated constraints to adults' (25-64 years) sport participation, and 2) summarise these factors according to the multiple levels of the social-ecological model. A total of 91 articles were identified following an extensive literature search conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. Studies were published over four decades (1983-2023), predominantly located in North America (n = 45; 49.5%), ranged from 5 to 10,646 participants, examined mainly middle-aged adults (Mrange = 35-44 years; n = 52; 48.6%), included more males (61.6%) than females (38.1%), and were conducted in primarily single sport contexts (n = 63; 69.2%). Overall, more unique facilitators (55 items) were identified than constraints (35 items) and negotiated constraints (13 items). The desire for improved health and enjoyment were the most frequently reported facilitators, and the main constraints were injury or illness and family commitments. Constraint negotiation strategies largely included individual (e.g., implementing financial strategies) and interpersonal factors (e.g., encouraging others to participate). This review highlighted the expansive multi-level factors that influence adults' sports participation, reiterated the complexity of developing appropriate sport offerings, and identified a lack of studies examining non-sport participants. Strategies to support adult sport participation should focus on enjoyment, consider co-designed sport modifications to alleviate perceived constraints and integrate behaviour change theory to foster positive sport participation habits.

An analysis of the São Silvestre race between 2007-2021: An increase in participation but a decrease in performance

This study aimed to investigate the trends of finishers in the São Silvestre race in Brazil, taking into account sex, age, and performance levels. A total of 31 ​775 runners (women, n ​= ​13 ​847; men, n ​= ​17 ​928), aged (45.2 ​± ​16.8) years, finishers in the São Silvestre race between 2007 and 2021, were considered in the present analysis. Data (event year, date of birth, sex, and race times) were downloaded from the official race website. The man-Whitney U test, Spearman correlation, and robust regression model were computed. Participation increased over time for both sexes. Regarding age groups, "31-40 years" (women) and "> 60 years" (men) were those with the highest number of finishers. We found a decrease in performance across the years (β ​= ​2.45; p ​< ​0.005), as well as significant differences in race times for both sexes (U ​= ​42.844; p ​< ​0.001), with men presenting better performances than women. Over time, it was observed an increase in the performance gap between the sexes, but in general, the performance decreased (β ​= ​1.76; p ​< ​0.001). Stakeholders should consider improving the strategies to improve women and young people's participation in running events.

Mediating Effect of Sports Safety Awareness between Sports Activity Habits and the Intention to Complete Safety Education among Korean Adolescents

BACKGROUND

As the importance of safety during sports activities continues to gain emphasis socially, the interest in creating a culture of safety and safety education to support this is also increasing. However, no study has examined the willingness of adolescents to complete safety education voluntarily. To identify methods of building a culture of sports safety among adolescents, this study investigated the structural relationship among three related variables: sports activity habits, intention to complete safety education, and sports safety awareness of Korean adolescents.

METHODS

Data on 3928 adolescents aged 13-18 years old from the 2019 Sports Safety Accident Survey conducted by the Korea Sports Safety Foundation were analyzed. This encompassed frequency analysis, scale reliability, validity verification, descriptive statistics analysis, path analysis, and mediating effect verification.

RESULTS

The results indicated that sports activity habits among these adolescents had a positive effect on their sports safety awareness and on their intention to complete safety education; further, their sports safety awareness had a positive effect on their intention to complete safety education. The results also showed that sports safety awareness had a partial mediating effect between sports activity habits and intention to complete safety education. The willingness of adolescents to voluntarily complete safety education is particularly important, as adolescence is a critical period when lifelong safety habits can be formed.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the results, discussions on creating safe sports activity habits for adolescents and continuous education on sports safety awareness are needed. Ultimately, we need to improve sports safety awareness by paying attention to the development and implementation of sports safety education programs for adolescents as a national policy and, through this, increase their willingness to complete safety education.

Two of a Kind? Similarities and Differences between Runners and Walkers in Sociodemographic Characteristics, Sports Related Characteristics and Wearable Usage

As the two prime examples of sport light, running and walking have become very popular sports activities in the past decades. There are references in the literature of similarities between both sports, however these parallels have never been studied. In addition, the current digitalisation of society can have important influences on the further diversification of profiles. Data of a large-scale population survey among runners and walkers (n = 4913) in Flanders (Belgium) were used to study their sociodemographic, sports related and attitudinal characteristics, and wearable usage. The results showed that walkers are more often female, older, lower educated, and less often use wearables. To predict wearable usage, sports-related and attitudinal characteristics are important among runners but not among walkers. Motivational variables to use wearables are important to predict wearable usage among both runners and walkers. Additionally, whether or not the runner or walker registers the heart rate is the most important predictor. The present study highlights similarities and differences between runners and walkers. By adding attitudinal characteristics and including walkers this article provides new insights to the literature, which can be used by policymakers and professionals in the field of sport, exercise and health, and technology developers to shape their services accordingly.

Motivation behind running among older adult runners

Background

Recreational running has greatly increased over the last decade, and different research has tried to understand the motivation that leads these amateur athletes to run. However, most research has focused on adult athletes, while the motivation behind older adult athletes has been overlooked.

Methods

The aim of this research was to analyse the motivational aspects of amateur runners aged over 50 years, and to consider the influence that years of practice, type of participation and some socio-demographical variables have on these older adults’ motivation behind running. 244 older adult amateur athletes in total completed an online survey with the 56 items contained in the motivation of marathoners scales (MOMS), 108 of whom were female (44%), and 136 were male runners (56%). Athletes were asked about their years’ running experience (< 1 year, 1–5 years, 6–10 years, > 10 years), their participation in running events (recreationally, half marathon, marathon, ultramarathon) and age (ranges 50–60, more than 60 years), gender (male, female), family life (whether in a relationship or not), and whether they had children (yes, no).

Results

The results showed statistical differences in the nine MOMS dimensions in terms of years’ running experience and participation in different running events. Moreover, older adult runners’ gender and age subsequently showed statistical differences with five and six motivational factors respectively, while athletes that did not have children were more likely to run regarding competition and showing recognition. Family life did not show any statistical association with any of the dimensions on the scale in this population, while regression analyses showed that, mainly, years’ running experience and participation were positively predicted, together with most motivational dimensions, while having children was negatively predicted in some of them.

Conclusions

This study showed that older adult runners’ reasons for participating differ from those obtained in previous studies, especially regarding training experience and participation in events. Therefore, the older adult population should be specifically addressed.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13102-021-00366-1.

Study of the Motivation of Spanish Amateur Runners Based on Training Patterns and Gender

The objectives of the present study are to analyze the different training patterns of the amateur runners, according to their gender, and to find out a correlation between the training pattern and the motivation. The sample was composed of 457 amateur runners. For the collection of data, a two-part questionnaire was used. The first part consisted of questions about sporting and healthy patterns and the second part consisted of the Perception of Success Questionnaire (POSQ), adapted to Spanish. The obtained results indicated that their motives for starting to practice running and to continue their involvement are health and fun. The training pattern is as follows: they practise one to three days per week, running from three to five hours overall plus additional stretching and high intensity training. They participated in less than one running event per month. Most of them did not belong to an athletic club, did not have a coach, were not federated and have more than four years’ experience of running. What concerns the gender differences, the men trained more than the women, and they did it with relatives and friends; women preferred to do it with friends or by themselves with the assistance of a coach. Age and running hours per week were the best variables to predict the task goal orientation, especially for men. For women, training hours per week predicted the goal orientation but to the ego. This finding could be especially helpful for coaches. A high number of training hours for men was linked with a task goal orientation, and on the other hand, for women it meant an ego goal orientation. The consequences of their behaviours were likely to be markedly different.

Do Sex, Age, and Marital Status Influence the Motivations of Amateur Marathon Runners? The Poznan Marathon Case Study

The purpose of this research was to describe reasons for participating in a marathon and their association with marital status, age, and sex. Four hundred and ninety-three runners in total, 144 of whom were women and 349 of whom were men, completed the Polish version of the Motivations of Marathoners Scale (MOMS), containing nine dimensions, which was released through an online survey at the Poznan Marathon in Poland (2019). Athletes’ age (ranges 19–25, 26–35, 36–50, 51–70 years) and marital status (single, married, divorced) were asked of the participants. The results showed that statistical significant associations were found between athletes’ motivational aspects and athletes’ sex and age. To this end, three MOMS dimensions were statistically associated with athletes’ sex, a further three dimensions were different age-wise, and, lastly, marital status did not show differences in any of the dimensions. Moreover, statistical differences were not found in the multivariate analysis comparing marital status, sex, and age range according to MOMS. Recreational runners’ reasons for participating in a marathon are different depending on certain sociodemographic variables; therefore, these characteristics should be considered when addressing different athletes in order to provide them with the most suitable information for taking part in such events.

Runner's Perceptions of Reasons to Quit Running: Influence of Gender, Age and Running-Related Characteristics

Physical inactivity has become a major public health concern and, consequently, the awareness of striving for a healthy lifestyle has increased. As a result, the popularity of recreational sports, such as running, has increased. Running is known for its low threshold to start and its attractiveness for a heterogeneous group of people. Yet, one can still observe high drop-out rates among (novice) runners. To understand the reasons for drop-out as perceived by runners, we investigate potential reasons to quit running among short distance runners (5 km and 10 km) (n = 898). Data used in this study were drawn from the standardized online Eindhoven Running Survey 2016 (ERS16). Binary logistic regressions were used to investigate the relation between reasons to quit running and different variables like socio-demographic variables, running habits and attitudes, interests, and opinions (AIOs) on running. Our results indicate that, not only people of different gender and age show significant differences in perceived reasons to quit running, also running habits, (e.g., running context and frequency) and AIOs are related to perceived reasons to quit running too. With insights into these related variables, potential drop-out reasons could help health professionals in understanding and lowering drop-out rates among recreational runners.

Understanding Different Types of Recreational Runners and How They Use Running-Related Technology

This study aims to help professionals in the field of running and running-related technology (i.e., sports watches and smartphone applications) to address the needs of runners. It investigates the various runner types—in terms of their attitudes, interests, and opinions (AIOs) with regard to running—and studies how they differ in the technology they use. Data used in this study were drawn from the standardized online Eindhoven Running Survey 2016 (ERS2016). In total, 3723 participants completed the questionnaire. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis were used to identify the different running types, and crosstabs obtained insights into the use of technology between different typologies. Based on the AIOs, four distinct runner types were identified: casual individual, social competitive, individual competitive, and devoted runners. Subsequently, we related the types to their use of sports watches and apps. Our results show a difference in the kinds of technology used by different runner types. Differentiation between types of runners can be useful for health professionals, policymakers involved in public health, engineers, and trainers or coaches to adapt their services to specific segments, in order to make use of the full potential of running-related systems to support runners to stay active and injury-free and contribute to a healthy lifestyle.

Amateur Runners' Commitment: An Analysis of Sociodemographic and Sports Habit Profiles

The aim of this work is to analyse the commitment to running among urban runners by identifying groups regarding commitment to this sport and by defining their sociodemographic profile and their sports habits. A sample of 1806 participants in popular urban races in the city of Valencia was interviewed using an 11-item questionnaire on commitment to running, sociodemographic characteristics, and sports habits. The psychometric properties of the running-commitment scale allowed for the identification of two factors in commitment to running: enthusiasm for running (6 items) and affliction from running (5 items). Subsequently, a cluster analysis combining hierarchical and non-hierarchical methods was performed, identifying three groups of runners: highly committed (n = 650), moderately committed (n = 749), and slightly committed (n = 407). Highly committed runners positively rate all aspects of running enthusiasm (M = 4.15), while moderately committed runners show a more neutral attitude (M = 3.41) and slightly committed runners disagree on these aspects (M = 2.41). Both highly (M = 1.32) and moderately (M = 2.04) committed runners disagree on the affliction-related aspects of running, while slightly committed runners show a trend towards neutrality on some affliction indicators. The variables referring to age, level of studies, sports habits, and running addiction contributed to differentiating the identified groups.

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.