Amateur marathon running in modern literature: types of description and reflection of reading

Abstract

The main purpose of this work is to analyze the modern literature on amateur marathon running and the motivational effect that such publications give to novice marathon runners. The author pays special attention to the fact that the appearance of such literature in recent years has coincided with a general decline in reader activity around the world. This demand may be explained by the fact that the preparation of a marathon runner is very specific and requires a lot of time for training. And this feature, which consists in long-term planning, makes it an additional attractive "long-term project" in comparison with most modern tasks, which are increasingly, being short-term, perceived as a duty-passing fluidity of life. The fact that there is no similar literary activity in other sports (best-selling books based on the description of the sport as a plot basis, the presence of authors – former athletes), allows us to conclude that marathon running, becoming not only a professional sport, but also acquiring the status of an amateur, is a challenge, generating the need for constant reflection both among the authors themselves and among readers. Against the background of the analysis of the content of books and "feedback" (readers' feedback), it is concluded that the basis of the appeal and mass popularity of amateur marathons should be associated with the "culture of challenge", which is clearly manifested in the practices of understanding and development of amateur running. The culture of challenge can be interpreted from the standpoint of L.N. Kogan's value-motivational analysis of culture and understood as the realization of essential human forces.