Time and time again it comes to my attention that a sizeable segment of the population are under the impression that people run for one reason and one reason only: to lose weight. As a slender gal, I’m often asked why I run when I don’t “need” to run. Why would I exert the effort if not for reasons of appearance? It’s madness. Based on the “skinny = why bother to run” theory, health is irrelevant. Afterall, it’s all about the number on the scale. Perhaps I should just enjoy my genetic blessings, flop myself on the sofa, eat bonbons, and watch TV. Ok, I do that too. There are many reasons why I run and weight control does not make my top ten list. And given the amount I eat during training, it would be a doomed endeavour anyway.
I find this personal experience interesting in light of recent research conducted by Havenar and Lochbaum. They studied individuals training for their first marathon to assess differences in motivation between the successful rookies (those who ran the marathon) and the dropouts. Perhaps not surprisingly, 70% of the original participants quit during training and did not run the marathon. Using the Motivations of Marathoners Scale (MOMS) the authors found three measures that differentiated the finishers and dropouts: weight concerns and social motives (social recognition and affiliation). In all cases the dropouts rated those motivators, especially weight concerns, more highly than did the finishers. The results “suggest that weight concern and recognition motives among first time marathoners are possible predictors of premature disseveration from the training program”. That is, they dropout. It seems that the will to get skinny isn’t enough to get you across that finish line.
