The running movement in Greece: Investigating the profile of the modern marathon runners

The purpose of this study is to analyse the profile and characteristics of those amateur runners, who participate in marathon running events, and to analyze the factors related to their perception about their running activity. In this paper data from a total of 323 runners were analysed (83% males and 17% females). An online questionnaire was used to collect data, which was based on the questionnaire about running from the Danish Institute for Sport Studies (Forsberg, 2012). For the measurement of the reasons to engage in running the measurement scales of Carmack & Rainer (1979) and Leedy (2000) were taken into consideration, of the commitment to running, the scales of Leedy (2000) and of the identity of runners, the scales of Anderson & Cychosz (1994). The results showed that more than half of the respondents had a running background of up to four years and most of them adapt similar motivations for their engagement in running, dominantly the motivations, which are related to the physical and mental health benefits of running. The marathoners are individuals of mostly 30 years of age, most of them fall under the middle income class, they are highly educated and they dominantly work in the private sector. The runners of the sample identify themselves as runners and they are proud of this and have a more neutral identity to other runners. Also, they are highly dedicated to their running activity, an element, which seems important to overcome the demands of their marathon training. By understanding the profile of today’s runners we can support their running activity, and generally the running movement in Greece, enhancing its role in the athletic culture of the Greek population.