| The purpose of this investigation was to determine the major factors which discriminated between addicted and non-addicted runners who participated in the 2nd annual Boomsday 5-K race in Knoxville, Tennessee. An unprecedented combination of factors (independent variables) based on what other researchers (Chapman and deCastro, 1990; Rudy and Estok, 1990; Hailey and Bailey, 1982; Carmack and Martens, 1979; Morgan, 1979) have studied in the past was used in this study. These factors included: quantity of weekly mileage, frequency of runs per week, number of years of running, average duration of run, and reasons why participants began running and why they presently chose to run, commitment to running and other addictions/compulsions.;A random sample of 400 subjects was taken from a list of 808 participants in the 2nd Annual Boomsday 5-K road race held in Knoxville, Tennessee on September 3, 1994 with the assumption that this sample would be representative of recreational and track club runners. A usable response rate of 42% (N = 169) was obtained.;Data for the current investigation were collected via a mail-out survey utilizing four instruments: The Runners' Profile Inventory, the Commitment to Running Scale, the Running Addiction Scale and the Problem History Scale. To ascertain the factors discriminating between addicted and non-addicted runners, a step-wise discriminant analysis procedure was conducted (alpha =.05).;Findings revealed that three independent variables discriminated between addicted and non-addicted runners were: frequency of runs per week, the commitment to running and the number of years one had been running. It was concluded that the more frequently one runs and the more committed one is to running, the more likely they will be addicted to running. Also, the greater the number of years a person has been running, given the same frequency and commitment level, the less likely they will be addicted to running. |
