How do new runners maintain their running, and what leads to others stopping? A qualitative, longitudinal study.

Many people who start running do not maintain their behaviour change. We used qualitative, longitudinal methods to explore and interpret the experiences of new runners and answer the question, "What experiences explain how new runners maintain their running or explain why they stop?" We interviewed 20 new runners (all White British, 14 women, 6 men) about their experiences; we interviewed 10 until they stopped running and 10 until they maintained running for 6-12 months (65 interviews in total). We also conducted nine participant observations at a running club, invited external reflections at a running club, and analysed six sets of participant diaries.

Psychological Determinants of Whole-Body Endurance Performance.

Background: No literature reviews have systematically identified and evaluated research on the psychological determinants of endurance performance, and sport psychology performance enhancement guidelines for endurance sports are not founded on a systematic appraisal of endurance-specific research.

Objective: A systematic literature review was conducted to identify practical psychological interventions that improve endurance performance and to identify additional psychological factors that affect endurance performance. Additional objectives were to evaluate the research practices of the included studies, to suggest theoretical and applied implications, and to guide future research.