The Running Experience

Hello and a big thank you for taking the time to complete this short survey on running.

I am a Human Geography Student at the University of Leicester and I am basing my dissertation project on my main passion - running. I aim to look at 'running experiences' and what sort of feelings and emotions can be drawn from our involvement in this activity.

I have taken part in numerous half-marathons (with a personal best of 1 hour 31 minutes) and I am now training for my first full marathon. This will take place in Leicester on 10th October 2010. I have created a blog dedicated to my dissertation project and my running. This can be found at:

http://therunningexperience.wordpress.com/

Your participation is ENTIRELY VOLUNTARY. Identifiable personal details have deliberately been omitted to ensure ANONYMITY AND CONFIDENTIALITY OF RESPONSES. Any personal comments from the returned questionnaires will be quoted anonymously and anything that might identify you will be removed.

Questions requiring an answer are marked with an asterix, but please try and answer every question as fully as possible. Once completed, please press the 'submit' button at the bottom of the page. Thank you very much indeed.

1. Are you male or female? *This question is required.

3. Please consider the motivations as to why YOU run? (Tick all that apply) *This question is required.

Health and Fitness
Enjoyment
Goal-setting (PB's)
A Social Event
Fund-raising
Other Please enter an 'other' value for this selection.

4. Do you have any comment to make regarding your motivations?

Do you have any comment to make regarding your distances?

6. Are you currently a member of a running club? *This question is required.

If you are, please explain why you are involved in the club and what your experiences have been. If not, are there any reasons as to why you haven't joined a running club? *This question is required.

7. Do you think running can be seen as a culture or even as a religion? Please explain your answer. *This question is required.

8. How would you describe any differing experiences between running alone on a training run compared to running in a mass-participatory event? *This question is required.

9. If you have taken part in events, please reflect back on them and describe some of your emotions and experiences at various stages of the run.

Pre-race
Start Line
Half-way
Finish Line
Post-race

10. What is your favoured spatial 'running landscape'? *This question is required.

Please explain your answer. *This question is required.

11. Have you ever suffered an injury which forced you to cut back on your training or made you miss an event? *This question is required.

If so, please describe how this affected you and made you feel. If not, consider how you think it would. *This question is required.

12. Finally, do you have any interesting comments or particular experiences you would like to share in relation to running?

The Running Experience

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