Sports and Social Interaction: Sports Experiences and Attitudes of the Urban Running Community
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
3. Materials and Methods
3.1. Participants
3.2. Data Collection
- “Why did you join the running group and what is your attitude towards the running group?”.
- “What are the activities of the running group?”.
- “how do you relate to other members?”.
- “what are the rules and requirements of the running group?”.
- “What are the impressive things/stories from the activities?”.
- “How have you changed since joining the running group?”.
3.3. Data Analysis
4. Results
4.1. Self-Presentation and External Motivation: An Analysis of the Interaction among Runners
“Every time I share my running results to my running buddies, I will be encouraged and more motivated”.(From HLP’s interview)
4.2. Self-Demands and Group Discipline: An Analysis of the Interaction between Runners and Running Groups
“Member of the running group who never participate in the activity will be given a heads-up, warned; if posting irrelevant content to the sport in the group chat, he or she will be kicked out from the WeChat group”.(From ZG’s interview)
“Everyone consciously abides by the rules of our running group, such as not to send advertisement links, and not to have others join in without the consent of the WeChat group leader”.(From LI’s interview)
“In fact, the majority of members participate in activities quite often, and there are few compulsory measures for those who do not participate in any. But we do network little with such members”.(From HLP’s interview)
“The main reason is that there are already way too many WeChat groups on my phone, and the message keeps annoyingly popping up all the time, So I quit many groups. At the time being, I just participate in one running group and quit all others. Honestly, I used to join in similar groups, but I had never engaged in any activities, I was somewhat embarrassed to be in it”.
“We often play solitaire in the WeChat group, sharing the mileage we have covered in a weak and the total mileage in the last six months. And then we will discuss on this topic”.(From ZH’s interview)
“It’s my routine to save the share the record made by the Joyrun, an app advocating the new running way of life, and everyone in my WeChat group would give my posts “likes”.(From XY’s interview)
“I usually share my running record in the group, not for showing off how fast I ran today, but for proving I keep insisting on running. That’s my reason of sharing, it is also a way of encouraging myself. The more I share, the keener interest I would have in running. By doing so, I do construct my own sense of identity towards running, this positive hobby”.(From ZG’s interview)
“After joining the running group, we all run together, and there is a significant improvement in our morale, which also exert positive impact on our lifestyles, such as few of us would stay up late. For me, back in my college days, I always burned the night oil, even for no good reason. Yet after running, I do become more self-disciplined”.(From ZG’s interview)
“In the running group, the vibe of keeps practicing together is quite intense. Otherwise, one may lose interest in this activity soon providing that he or she just a beginner, or just did not see any achievement in a short term. However, if there is a group with various activities that he can join in. The more he takes part in it, the more interest he will have, and the better such a habit can be developed”.(From YDX’s interview)
4.3. Intergroup Interaction and Group Identity: An Analysis of Intergroup Interaction in Running Societies
“My running group is a branch of YPT’s running group. Every activity the group holds have explicit principles, purposes and slogans with staff bearing a clear division of labor. Every month my running group will provide free drinks and fruit, and occasionally there will be small gifts, such as mugs, stickers as souvenir etc”.(From YDX’s interview)
“Honestly, I have tried many running groups, but RPT running group is the one I’ve been in constantly. Because the atmosphere of the whole running group is very good, and in the last activity, I was given a towel exclusive to our group. It was printed with a logo, which is quite practical and good-looking as well”.(From ZH’s interview)
“The running groups I created are of small scale, serving teachers and students mostly. The activity is quite spontaneous and casual. Whoever feel interested in can join in on voluntary basis. And basically, they run at their own speed, lasting for 30 to 40 min. There are 159 people in the running group, about 10 are frequent participants”.(From ZG’s interview)
“The running group I am in is a relatively big one that runs around hills. Together group members go hiking on weekends. Running group of this nature usually have more diversified activities, each time it will design some routes in advance, which is quite interesting. So, each time there are some 40 runners participating in activities”.(From XY’s interview)
“I’ve been in the running group for quite a long time. Two years ago, the running group was not so well developed, which was merely led by a leader, and people who joined in were simply out of their interest. Now, we have a group leader, a deputy leader, and an administrator. And we usually summarize the pros and cons of the activity after it ends, and also bond with other running groups. So, it is getting better and better”.(From LI’s interview)
“We often forward some marathon information in the group chat, because I am in a few running groups, so the time I see any useful information I will share with the group members”.(From ZH’s interview)
5. Discussion
6. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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No. | Interviewee Code | Gender | Age | Education Background | Occupation | Joining Time |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ZG | Male | 50 | Bachelor | College lecturer | 2014 |
2 | YDX | Female | 26 | Master | Public servant | 2019 |
3 | ZH | Male | 23 | Bachelor | Student | 2018 |
4 | HLP | Female | 28 | Master | Middle school teacher | 2018 |
5 | XY | Male | 29 | Bachelor | Freelancer | 2017 |
6 | LJ | Female | 32 | Master | Public servant | 2015 |
7 | HXX | Female | 46 | Doctor | College lecturer | 2017 |
8 | LBF | Male | 38 | Bachelor | Freelancer | 2015 |
9 | LY | Male | 40 | Bachelor | Freelancer | 2018 |
10 | LCJ | Female | 22 | Bachelor | Student | 2019 |
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Yang, J.; Ju, F.-Y.; Tian, Z.-G. Sports and Social Interaction: Sports Experiences and Attitudes of the Urban Running Community. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 14412. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192114412
Yang J, Ju F-Y, Tian Z-G. Sports and Social Interaction: Sports Experiences and Attitudes of the Urban Running Community. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022; 19(21):14412. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192114412
Chicago/Turabian StyleYang, Jia, Fang-Yuan Ju, and Zu-Guo Tian. 2022. "Sports and Social Interaction: Sports Experiences and Attitudes of the Urban Running Community" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 21: 14412. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192114412