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The motives for taking part in recreational running were investigated. Factor analytic techniques showed there to be six motivational categories underlying a runners' involvement in his or her sport: (a) Well Being (b) Social (c) Challenge (d) Status (e) Fitness/Health and (f) Addiction. The first four of these motives are similar in content to those previously identified as being central to a wide range of leisure activities. The importance of the six factors identified was also assessed. Challenge, followed by Health/Fitness and Well Being appeared to be the prime motivations for running. It is argued that sports researchers must integrate their work into the wider field of leisure research in order to fully answer the question of why people take part in physical activity.
Clough et al. (Fri,) studied this question.