MOTIVATION IN THE COMMITTED RUNNER - CORRELATIONS BETWEEN SELF-REPORTSCALES AND BEHAVIOR

Regular running or jogging has been promoted for improved health and w ell-being. The potential negative aspects of commitment or 'addiction' to the activity have received less attention. Moreover, there has bee n little investigation into the personal motives of the committed runn er. The present study used established psychometric self-report scales to document the levels of 'addiction' to running, together with an an alysis of personal incentives fora group of committed runners who were , on average, running over 40 miles per week. The scales confirmed tha t the majority (77%) were highly committed to levels of running which would be classified as moderately or highly 'addictive'. The predomina nt personal incentives for such runners were associated with 'mastery' , 'competition' and weight regulation, although 'health concerns' and 'fitness' were also important motives. The commitment to running as me asured by the scales was related to the frequency of running and dista nces run but not to the number of years of running. Regression analyse s indicated that mastery and social recognition were important predict ors of levels of running commitment. It is suggested that committed ru nners should be regarded as a heterogeneous population and that more i nformation is required on the motives of a broader sample of runners. For those who initiate running as a means of promoting health, there i s a potential danger of developing an obsessive commitment to running, and this may be more likely for those individuals who are prone to st ress.