Motivation and Sport
What really makes us run?
(discover the ATLET Motivation questionnaire at the end of the article)
In April, I had planned to talk to you about managing elevation gain… in May, about the benefits of shock weekends… As I write these lines, these subjects seem rather futile and somewhat inappropriate… The outlook seems quite bleak for the coming months… Gatherings are still prohibited, races are being cancelled one after another… how long will this wretched virus keep us from pinning on a race bib? So today, rather than talking about hard-core training, I felt more like talking about motivation… What really makes us run?
1 - During this period of lockdown, it seems to me that we were able to distinguish 3 types of runners:
- new runners, those who took advantage of the period to take up running or return to it
- those who continued going out at all costs, adapting their practice to the restrictions in force
- and those who put a major brake on their running practice.
And you, has your physical activity changed?
Lockdown profoundly disrupted our lifestyles, and these changes may factually explain modifications to our training:
- For many of us, our schedules were completely reorganized: working from home, homeschooling, being with our children and partner 24/7, no lunch break, back-to-back video calls, very busy days for some, idleness for others… But in every case, your training slots were disrupted; you had to recreate time for yourself and your activity, and that is not easy.
- Our space was also limited, regulated and restricted: training within one kilometer of home, if we followed the rules to the letter, was somewhat limiting… at first it was fine; the constraint allowed us to reinvent ourselves and break our training routines, but in the long run, it could become a little dull… and lead to weariness and demotivation.
- Our social interactions were also severely limited… We have never experienced the “solitude of the long-distance runner” so intensely as during this period! But for some people, running alone is a real punishment!
- And we have had no competitions to look forward to for weeks, and the shortage of goals is going to last! All the training plans have fallen apart; everything has to be postponed until autumn, and even then, nothing is certain as I write these lines… For some, “the taste for effort consists of accepting temporary discomfort in order to obtain delayed but enhanced satisfaction” (D. Delignières). But if we no longer have a competition in sight, it’s over; there’s no point in pushing ourselves… right?
2 - After these few factual reflections on what may or may not have led to changes in our practices, here are some more theoretical ideas underlying the concept of “motivation.”
“The term motivation comes from the Latin motivus, mobile, relating to movement. The desire to move, as opposed to remaining still, is the very essence of motivation.” (R. Cox). This applies so well to our discipline!
We cannot simply reduce the subject to “am I motivated or not?” Motivation is a complex subject studied in psychology, and I drew inspiration from scales and tests to offer you a short questionnaire about the motivations that drive us to run.
I suggest exploring 2 concepts related to motivation:
2-1: Achievement goal theory
What motivates us? To put it very simply, we are mainly motivated by two central goals:
- either by the task, by mastery. Our goal is then to understand and master a particular activity, to improve and train. We strongly believe that success and progress depend on the effort made, and we experience a sense of accomplishment through learning and mastering a difficult task (an achievement goal corresponding to statements 1, 11, 15 and 25).
- or by performance, competition and ego. In this case, social comparison drives us forward. We want to demonstrate our performance to others (an achievement goal corresponding to statements 5, 8, 9 and 20). “For an athlete oriented toward ego, success means defeating their opponent through greater ability, rather than through the effort made or the progress achieved.”
- You may well have recognized yourself in both the task-oriented and ego-oriented statements: the two orientations are indeed independent. “Studies have shown that, in terms of performance, satisfaction and enjoyment, the ideal is to be strongly oriented toward both the task AND the ego, but with a high level of perceived ability, self-esteem and self-confidence. If this level is low, there is a risk of avoiding challenges in competition for fear of failure.” This is referred to as avoidance strategy or self-handicapping, but that is another aspect that could be interesting to explore further.
2-2: 2 major types of intrinsic / extrinsic motivation
Another question: how are we motivated? By internal factors or rather by external factors?
Studies propose a continuum of motivation:
- from Amotivation (with an A, a privative prefix): I don’t know why I run; I don’t see any benefit in running. (The red statements in the test.) Naturally, if that is where you are in your questioning, putting on your running shoes must be difficult…
- to extrinsic motivation (the green statements in the test): I run for external reasons: for rewards, trophies, money, praise, social approval, fear of being punished… If the distribution of “rewards” stops, this athlete will find no reason to continue training… and that may currently be the case for some people… If competition is the only engine driving you forward, the current situation is certainly very difficult to live through, and your shoes may remain in the cupboard for a while longer…
However, these external sources of motivation can become increasingly integrated and internalized by the athlete; for example:
1 - at first, I do strength training because my coach makes me or because social norms push me to do it
2 - then, I am not particularly fond of strength training, but I can see that it is important, so I make myself do the sessions
3 - finally, strength training helps me improve, so I do it of my own free will!
- to intrinsic motivation (the blue statements in the test), which comes from within. Intrinsically motivated people engage freely, without being driven by any reward, in activities for different reasons: for knowledge (new techniques, for example), for accomplishment (a particular new challenge), for stimulation (the euphoria of the start of a competition, for example), or for pleasure (simply the physical exertion). And these athletes, I think, collect all the authorization forms. They have certainly adapted their practice, but they continue to rack up the kilometers!
Conclusion:
While waiting to be able to enjoy the trails more freely again, this may be the right time to ask yourself the right questions: why do I really run? These few theoretical points may help you take as objective and sincere a look as possible…
Article by Maria SEMERJIAN, Physical Education teacher and elite ultratrail runner, for our partner ATLET’s website
