Abstract
Aim: This study was aimed to investigate the influence of age on the motivations of various types of runners, namely, marathoners, ultra-marathoners, and non-starters.Methods: A total of 1,537 runners including 380 women (24.7%) and 1,157 men (75.3%) took part in the diagnostic survey and completed the motivations of marathoners’ scales questionnaire (MOMS). The effect sizes were estimated.Results: The article presents several statistically significant differences in the impact of age on the motivations of runners in different categories and compares the motivations of marathon runners, ultramarathon runners, and non-starters. The results show that young non-starters decide to run for personal goal achievement, and for both marathon and ultramarathon runners, recognition and competition are important. However, for older people in all groups (non-starters, marathoners, and ultramarathoners), personal goal achievement is of the least importance. Among the oldest runners, the most important motives were self-esteem for non-starters and health orientation for marathoners and ultramarathoners.
Highlights
Much has been written in the past about running as a social phenomenon and the motivation to run in the psychological dimension, running, mass running events, marathon tourism, and research devoted to it are currently experiencing a renaissance
The analysis of the results should start with the statement that the population of respondents who responded via the questionnaire is similar to the general population of runners in marathons and ultra-marathons
There were 19% of Polish women who participated in ultramarathons
Summary
Much has been written in the past about running as a social phenomenon and the motivation to run in the psychological dimension, running, mass running events, marathon tourism, and research devoted to it are currently experiencing a renaissance. Research on the motivations of modern runners is important because much research to date has been conducted in a different socio-cultural context. Running motivations have already been analyzed for variables such as gender, nationality, place of residence, or the age of participants of half and full marathons, ultramarathons, or triathlons. Many studies focused on the motivation to run by gender. Researchers usually found differences between male and female motivations (Running, 1995; López-Fernández et al, 2014; Summers et al, 2016; Poczta and Malchrowicz-Mosko, 2018b; Nikolaidis et al, 2019b). Researchers usually found differences between male and female motivations (Running, 1995; López-Fernández et al, 2014; Summers et al, 2016; Poczta and Malchrowicz-Mosko, 2018b; Nikolaidis et al, 2019b). Ogles and Masters (2003) presented a typology of marathon runners based
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