Motivations to run among university students

Abstract

Running is one of the most popular physical activity (PA) amongst people in Singapore. However, despite the increase in PA participation rates in recent years in Singapore, there is a drop in PA at the stage of adolescence which coincides with the ages of university students. Therefore, the aim of this research study is to understand the motivations to run among university students in Singapore. Ten runners (6 male and 4 female) who are current university students and have ran a half-marathon or marathon in their university candidature were interviewed. A semi-structured interview was conducted on a one-to-one basis to identify motivations to run. There were three significant motivations to run: to de-stress, for friends and to hit personal goals; and there were no major difference in motivations to run between genders. The findings of this study can aid university administrators or Sport Singapore to gain a better understanding of this specific segment in relation to the area of PA, which may aid their initiatives, by focusing on the segment’s motivations that keeps them running.