Abstract
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.
Highlights
Today, running has become an immensely popular pastime practised in the public sphere by millions of recreational participants around the world
The aim of this paper is to analyse the commitment to running among urban runners by identifying groups with a greater or lesser commitment to this sport
This study identified three groups of participants in urban popular races with different commitments to running: “highly committed”, “moderately committed”, and “slightly committed”
Summary
Today, running has become an immensely popular pastime practised in the public sphere by millions of recreational participants around the world. Valencia is a city with a strong running tradition, with runners participating in this activity since the beginning of the 19th century [2]. The number of nonprofessional sports clubs offering different sports activities has been increasing recently in the main. European cities [3,4] Both nonprofessional and professional clubs have limited information about the profiles of athletes based on their commitment to the activities they offer. The groups of runners are heterogeneous and have different subcultures; they could be differentiated in the frequency of the practice of the sport, in the motives, or in the participation in competitions [5]. Public Health 2020, 17, 925; doi:10.3390/ijerph17030925 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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