IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v15y2018i10p2262-d175911.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Running as a Form of Therapy Socio-Psychological Functions of Mass Running Events for Men and Women

Author

Listed:
  • Ewa Malchrowicz-Mośko

    (Department of Cultural Foundations of Tourism, University School of Physical Education in Poznan, 61-871 Poznan, Poland)

  • Joanna Poczta

    (Department of Cultural Foundations of Tourism, University School of Physical Education in Poznan, 61-871 Poznan, Poland)

Abstract

The main goal of this study was to recognize the motives of participation in mass running events (Poznan Half Marathon case study). The second aim was to examine the motivations to participate in a half-marathon among two groups of respondents: men and women, and to evaluate the differences between them. The empirical research among runners ( n = 560) conducted during the one of the most important running events in Poland recognized the motives for participation in the sports event in accordance with the four basic types of orientation: social orientation, experience orientation, factual orientation, and result orientation (Freyer & Gross, 2002). The significant difference between surveyed men and women appeared in the motives of desire to get away from everyday life and its prevailing fashion, which turned out to be more important for women than for men. The desire to win was not important for the respondents. All respondents reported that what was very important for them was the need to experience strong emotions related to participation, the desire to feel unity and integration with other people, and the desire to test themselves. In general, the results show that people participate in running events not only for physical activity, but also for mental well-being and socio-psychological effects. They experience strong emotions, adrenaline, pleasure, relaxation, and an escape from the duties and hardships of everyday life and have an opportunity to build social relationships thanks to mass sports events organized in urban agglomerations. The article constitutes a conceptualization of the running event in the dimension of social and psychological interactions, which reveal and demonstrate its creative layers and contemporary meaning which has already gone deeply beyond functions of running for health and improving the physical condition.

Suggested Citation

  • Ewa Malchrowicz-Mośko & Joanna Poczta, 2018. "Running as a Form of Therapy Socio-Psychological Functions of Mass Running Events for Men and Women," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-15, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:10:p:2262-:d:175911
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/10/2262/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/10/2262/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lupton, Deborah, 1997. "Consumerism, reflexivity and the medical encounter," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 373-381, August.
    2. Crawford, Robert, 1994. "The boundaries of the self and the unhealthy other: Reflections on health, culture and AIDS," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 38(10), pages 1347-1365, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ewa Malchrowicz-Mośko, 2022. "Recreational Running Motivations among Breast Cancer Survivors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-9, November.
    2. Ewa Malchrowicz-Mośko & Joanna Poczta & Katarzyna Adamczewska, 2019. "The Potential of Non-Mega Sporting Events for the Promotion of Physical Activity Among Inactive Supporters at the Poznan Half Marathon: A Case Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-12, October.
    3. Pantelis T. Nikolaidis & Aïna Chalabaev & Thomas Rosemann & Beat Knechtle, 2019. "Motivation in the Athens Classic Marathon: The Role of Sex, Age, and Performance Level in Greek Recreational Marathon Runners," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-9, July.
    4. Jia Yang & Fang-Yuan Ju & Zu-Guo Tian, 2022. "Sports and Social Interaction: Sports Experiences and Attitudes of the Urban Running Community," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-14, November.
    5. Joanna Poczta & Nuno Almeida & Małgorzata Paczyńska-Jędrycka & Ewa Kruszyńska, 2022. "The Impact of COVID-19 Incidence on Motivation to Participate in a Triathlon," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-11, May.
    6. Ewa Malchrowicz-Mośko & Arkaitz Castañeda-Babarro & Patxi León Guereño, 2020. "On the Way to the Marathon—Motivation for Participating in Mass Running Events Among Children and Adolescents: Results of the Poznan Half Marathon Pilot Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-9, July.
    7. Estibaliz Romaratezabala & Daniel Castillo & Javier Raya-González & Josune Rodríguez-Negro & Irati Aritzeta & Javier Yanci, 2020. "Health and Wellness Status Perception of Half-Marathon Runners: Influence of Age, Sex, Injury, and Training with Qualified Staff," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-16, August.
    8. Marek Kazimierczak & Agata Dąbrowska & Katarzyna Adamczewska & Ewa Malchrowicz-Mośko, 2019. "The Impact of Modern Ultramarathons on Shaping the Social Identity of Runners. The Case Study of Karkonosze Winter Ultramarathon," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-15, December.
    9. David Parra-Camacho & María Huertas González-Serrano & Rómulo Jacobo González-García & Ferran Calabuig Moreno, 2019. "Sporting Habits of Urban Runners: Classification According to Their Motivation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-18, December.
    10. Ewa Malchrowicz-Mośko & Dariusz Wieliński & Katarzyna Adamczewska, 2020. "Perceived Benefits for Mental and Physical Health and Barriers to Horseback Riding Participation. The Analysis among Professional and Amateur Athletes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-14, May.
    11. Yolanda Campos-Uscanga & Hannia Reyes-Rincón & Eduardo Pineda & Santiago Gibert-Isern & Saraí Ramirez-Colina & Vianey Argüelles-Nava, 2022. "Running in Natural Spaces: Gender Analysis of Its Relationship with Emotional Intelligence, Psychological Well-Being, and Physical Activity," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-10, May.
    12. Pantelis T. Nikolaidis & José Ramón Alvero-Cruz & Elias Villiger & Thomas Rosemann & Beat Knechtle, 2019. "The Age-Related Performance Decline in Marathon Running: The Paradigm of the Berlin Marathon," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-12, June.
    13. Joanna Poczta & Nuno Almeida & Ewa Malchrowicz-Mośko, 2021. "Socio-Psychological Functions of Men and Women Triathlon Participation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-12, November.
    14. Ewa Kruszyńska & Joanna Poczta, 2020. "Difficulties Limiting Access to Sports and Recreational Facilities in the City in the Perceptions of Service Users. Sports and Recreational Infrastructure Management Policy—Poznan Case Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-20, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Persson, Asha & Newman, Christy, 2006. "Potency and vulnerability: Troubled 'selves' in the context of antiretroviral therapy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(6), pages 1586-1596, September.
    2. Epstein, Steven, 2016. "The politics of health mobilization in the United States: The promise and pitfalls of “disease constituencies”," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 246-254.
    3. Meyer, Samantha B. & Coveney, John & Henderson, Julie & Ward, Paul R. & Taylor, Anne W., 2012. "Reconnecting Australian consumers and producers: Identifying problems of distrust," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 634-640.
    4. Chiu, Stephen W.K. & Ko, Lisanne S.F. & Lee, Rance P.L., 2005. "Decolonization and the movement for institutionalization of Chinese medicine in Hong Kong: a political process perspective," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(5), pages 1045-1058, September.
    5. Cohen, Mark, 2017. "A systemic approach to understanding mental health and services," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 1-8.
    6. Childerhose, Janet E. & MacDonald, Margaret E., 2013. "Health consumption as work: The home pregnancy test as a domesticated health tool," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 1-8.
    7. Setti Rais Ali & Paul Dourgnon & Lise Rochaix, 2018. "Social Capital or Education: What Matters Most to Cut Time to Diagnosis?," Working Papers halshs-01703170, HAL.
    8. Petersen, Alan, 2006. "The best experts: The narratives of those who have a genetic condition," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(1), pages 32-42, July.
    9. Konishi, Yuumi, 2024. "Trans depathologisation and gender identity disorder in Japan: A critical discourse analysis of medical literature, 2010–2022," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 353(C).
    10. Campbell, Chadwick K., 2021. "Structural and intersectional biographical disruption: The case of HIV disclosure among a sample of black gay and bisexual men," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    11. Stefan Stremersch & Vardit Landsman & Sriram Venkataraman, 2013. "The Relationship Between DTCA, Drug Requests, and Prescriptions: Uncovering Variation in Specialty and Space," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(1), pages 89-110, June.
    12. Dyer, Thomas Anthony & Owens, Janine & Robinson, Peter Glenn, 2014. "The acceptability of care delegation in skill-mix: The salience of trust," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(2), pages 170-178.
    13. Agathe Morinière & Irène Georgescu & Sea Matilda Bez, 2025. "Do Google Reviews matter for doctors? Unpacking online emotional accountability on a digital platform," Post-Print hal-04877302, HAL.
    14. Joanna Poczta & Ewa Malchrowicz-Mośko, 2018. "Modern Running Events in Sustainable Development—More than Just Taking Care of Health and Physical Condition (Poznan Half Marathon Case Study)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-14, June.
    15. Billings, Katie R. & Cort, David A. & Rozario, Tannuja D. & Siegel, Derek P., 2021. "HIV stigma beliefs in context: Country and regional variation in the effects of instrumental stigma beliefs on protective sexual behaviors in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Southern Africa," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    16. Brown, Patrick & Elston, Mary Ann & Gabe, Jonathan, 2015. "From patient deference towards negotiated and precarious informality: An Eliasian analysis of English general practitioners' understandings of changing patient relations," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 164-172.
    17. Simon Williams, 2001. "From Smart Bombs to Smart Bugs: Thinking the Unthinkable in Medical Sociology and Beyond," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 6(3), pages 83-88, November.
    18. Bromley, Elizabeth, 2012. "Building patient-centeredness: Hospital design as an interpretive act," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(6), pages 1057-1066.
    19. Ebeling, Mary, 2011. "'Get with the Program!': Pharmaceutical marketing, symptom checklists and self-diagnosis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(6), pages 825-832, September.
    20. Ewa Malchrowicz-Mośko & Joanna Poczta & Katarzyna Adamczewska, 2019. "The Potential of Non-Mega Sporting Events for the Promotion of Physical Activity Among Inactive Supporters at the Poznan Half Marathon: A Case Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-12, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:10:p:2262-:d:175911. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.