USING SERIOUS LEISURE THEORY TO UNDERSTAND CHARITY RUNNERS’ MOTIVATIONS, SOCIAL RELATIONS, AND EXPERIENCES

2023-2-01
Yıldız, Alper
Running in marathons by non-professional athletes for a cause has attracted the attention of researchers, the athletic community, and ordinary citizens in recent decades. However, studies examining these charity runners are limited. Therefore, this study aimed to understand the motivations to participate in a charity event and charity runners' experiences and social relationships within serious leisure theory. As a secondary aim, perceptions of the participants toward their charity organization’s management strategies were examined. This qualitative study collected data from 11 charity runners (7 men, 4 women) of the Middle East Technical University (METU) Alumni Association (İstanbul branch) via semi-structured interviews, participatory observation, and document analysis. Data were transfused into verbatim transcripts and then analyzed. Findings indicated that in addition to altruistic motivations, charity runners have numerous reasons to participate in charity running, including sports, socialization, and nature. These motivations are also indicators of serious leisure concept. Hence, this study was expected to expand serious leisure literature and shed light on charity runners’ leisure behaviors. Results uncovered that charity runners socialize for networking or solidarity and might either run or fundraise seriously. Results also demonstrated that charity runners intend to fund the students and research more due to insufficient public funding. Findings were expected to reorient management strategies towards charity running. Finally, the results of this study may be convenient for the effective use of funds raised.

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Citation Formats
A. Yıldız, “USING SERIOUS LEISURE THEORY TO UNDERSTAND CHARITY RUNNERS’ MOTIVATIONS, SOCIAL RELATIONS, AND EXPERIENCES,” Ph.D. - Doctoral Program, Middle East Technical University, 2023.