PREDICTIVE MODELS OF MOTIVATION IN ROUTE RUNNERS BASED ON THEIR TRAINING HABITS

Abstract

Antonio Zarauz1, Francisco Ruiz-Juan2 y Gabriel Flóres-Allende3

In physical exercise, studying the incentives involved when a subject is developing within their activity has become one of the key concerns of sport and exercise psychology. The aim was to establish the predictive effects of some training habits upon the reasons for participating in route races. 1795 long-distance runners took part (1105 Spanish, 690 Mexicans). Of these, 85.65% were men with an average age of M = 38.98 (DT = 10.45), and 14.35% were women, with an average age of M = 37.88 (DT = 9.80). Data were collected via Spanish language adaptations of Motivations of Marathoners Scales-34 (MOMS-34) and several questions about training habits of the runners. In the early heyday of jogging, participating in marathons was more challenge, recognition, etc., and, over time, as has been popularized by the results obtained in this investigation, we conclude that every time more runners do to improve your self-esteem, health and give meaning to your life, especially in women. Women, for their training habits, seem to face the challenge of preparing for a marathon with more commitment and responsibility than men. Moreover, we obtained seven strong predictive models of the motivations of the runners that show that, although men and women run with similar motivations, these can be predicted by many different variables, hence it is absolutely necessary to always analyze this population by sex.