Ogles, Benjamin M.; Masters, Kevin S. Older vs.
Younger Adult Male Marathon
Runners: Participative Motives and
Training Habits. Journal of Sport Behavior. 23(2): 130-143; 2000.
Examines participative
motivations between younger and older
male marathon runners to discover correlations to different training methods. Questionnaires
were completed during pre-race registration by runners participating in one of
four
marathons. Questionnaire included the Motivations of Marathoners Scales
(MOMS, Masters, Ogle & Jolton, 1993), demographic and training information
and other “irrelevant” instruments. From a population of 1075 returned useable
tests, the two age groups were selected; older men, of 50 years or more, (N
= 104) and younger men, 20 to 28 years (N = 110). Results revealed that
older runners were significantly more “
motivated to run as part of a broad
health orientation” (p < .001), “weight concern” (p < .01),
“life meaning” (p < .01), and “affiliation with other runners” (p
< .01). Younger runners were significantly more motivated by “personal goal
achievement” (p < .001). There was no significant difference in level
of competitiveness between the two age groups (p < .05). Runners emphasizing competitive motivations were
likely to have lower finish times independent of age (r = -.36). Older competition-motivated runners were more likely to
have completed more marathons, while younger competition-motivated runners were
more likely to have completed fewer marathons (r = .51). Older runners, though they participate in equal amounts
and quality of training as younger runners, tend to have higher finish times.
This is most likely due to the health-oriented motivations of older runners and
competitive motivations of younger runners; competing and finishing may be the
focus of older athletes, while performance outcome is the focus of their
younger counterparts.