Background/Purpose Researchers have long been interested in the motivations behind runners' willingness expose themselves to distress and pain while following strict training plans; however, a major limitation of the current research is the cross-sectional design. This study's purpose was to longitudinally investigate motivations for marathon training across a 14-week program.
Method Participants in this study included 39 college-aged runners. Prior to and at the conclusion of the training, runners completed the Motivations of Marathoners Scale (Masters, Ogles, & Jolton, 1993).
Analysis/Results Pre-training data indicated that runners were most motivated by Health Orientation, Self-esteem, and Personal Goal Achievement. T-tests revealed differences for gender, with males higher in Competition (t(37)=3.256; p =.005) and females higher in Weight Concern (t(37)=2.056; p =.048) and Self-esteem (t(37) =2.328; p =.025). Analysis of post-training data revealed a decrease from pre to post in Health Orientation (t(38)=2.711; p =.010). In addition, an increase in the Recognition subscale from pre to post was found (t(38)=2.626; p =.012). Lastly, the gender differences found in the pre-training data for the Competition and Weight Concern subscales were reported in the post-training data.
Conclusions These results indicate that motivational factors driving an individual to begin a training program may shift over time. This is congruent with physical activity research which states that motivations for beginning exercise can differ from motivations to continue those activities over time. These results provide important insight into how motivations may shift over time, which is a critical factor to consider when developing interventions aimed at maintaining motivation over time.