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. Four themes were constructed using a reflexive thematic analysis: (1) Identifying a meaningful "why"; (2) "Life gets in the way" of running; (3) Learning that I can run; and (4) Opportunities are unequal and experiences contrast. The runners' reasons for running helped us to interpret changes in their experiences through time. Meaningful reasons helped runners to learn that they can run, prioritise running, and prevent life getting in the way. These reasons tended to be reasons to run, as opposed to reasons to be physically active, and they related to their identity, values, special memories, relationships, enjoyment of running, or a personal goal. Nevertheless, social inequalities like gendered experiences, wealth, and health differences meant that opportunities and experiences of running differed, creating more barriers for some runners. When runners faced substantial barriers, having a meaningful reason was helpful but it was sometimes insufficient for maintenance. The analysis illustrates how people's reasons for exercise influence their experiences through time, the dynamic nature of people's exercise barriers and facilitators, and the unequal nature of opportunities and experiences.