Who Participates in Extreme Obstacle Courses and Why

This study aimed to examine who participates in extreme obstacle courses (EOCs) and why. Drawing from the Big Five theory of personality, and the self-determination theory of motivation, this study examined the interaction of individual difference variables (IDVs) and motivation in a sample of 79 people interested in running extreme obstacle courses. Specifically, demographics, extraversion, openness to experience, general self-efficacy, and physical selfefficacy were examined regarding how they relate to the number of EOCs participants run, and whether they run for intrinsically motivated reasons. Findings suggest that most participants were male, European-American and of high SES. The majority reported being intrinsically having participated in EOCs). Extraversion was significantly positively correlated with intrinsic motivation, and significantly negatively correlated with the combination of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and physical self-efficacy was marginally related to the number of EOCs participants run. No interactions between personality variables and motivations were found to affect number of EOCs ran. Interpretations of these and other findings, as well as study limitations, are discussed. ,-. ,/,&012.345,&406! 2,2&& <& Who Participates in Extreme Obstacle Courses and Why According to the American Heart Association, 154.7 million Americans over age 20 are overweight or obese (Go et al., 2013); worldwide, an estimated one billion adults are obese, and an additional 475 million are overweight (World Obesity Federation, 2014). With obesity so prevalent, exercise has received special attention over the past few years, and fitness has become an important part of daily life. We are exposed to exercise in the media on many different levels, from gyms and yoga studios offering free or discounted classes, to magazines putting easy 20minute workout routines on the front cover, to Michel fitness campaign. Fortunately there are many different forms of exercise to choose from, so people can tailor their workout to their preferences. Among the various fitness trends, one of the fastest growing sports activities is the extreme obstacle course (EOC). According to Tough Mudder , one of the most popular brands of EOC, there have been 1.3 million participants since 2013, and they average 10-15 thousand people per event (Tough Mudder, 2014). The extreme obstacle companies like the aforementioned Tough Mudder © and Spartan Race © to the more militaristic Goruck , to the newer, wacky spin-offs like The Zombie Run: Extreme . Each course offers something a little different, but they all have three things in common: running, obstacles, and teamwork. The Extreme Obstacle Course Every obstacle course is different, and puts its own spin on the activity. Tough Mudder © is a 10-12 mile course loaded with obstacles including scaling walls, crawling through mud with ,-. ,/,&012.345,&406! 2,2&& =& 2014). Spartan Race © is similar, but offers different levels of difficulty and puts more emphasis on the clock, stating that they want their participants to not only be working together to complete 2013). Conversely, Goruck © de-emphasizes time, and is strictly interested in pushing people to their limits in a military training course with a premium on team bonding and physical exertion. over 20 obstacles, is the most similar to the traditional extreme obstacle course. Aside from this, Goruck offers military training style courses, which involve walking a minimum of 7-10 miles with a backpack full of bricks or sandbags, while enduring bootcamp training activities with your teammates. Finally, wacky offshoots offer the fun and challenge of a traditional obstacle course with the added feature of themes. The Zombie Run: Extreme , for example, is a 5k with 8-10 obstacles, which participants complete all while being chased by zombies. Despite the growth in both the number of courses available worldwide, and the number of participants in extreme obstacle courses, research has yet to look at this activity critically. While marathons, team sports, and extreme sports have all received attention from a scientific vantage point, extreme obstacle courses have largely been left to the media. The current study aims to understand the psychology of running obstacles races, with a specific focus on who participates and why, looking not only at demographic information such as gender and socioeconomic status, but also at characteristics such as extraversion, openness to experience, self-efficacy, and motivation. ,-. ,/,&012.345,&406! 2,2&& >& Who Participates in Extreme Obstacle Courses? Currently, little is known about who participates in extreme obstacle courses. According to Tough Mudder, the average age of their participants is 29, and 70% of their participants are male (Tough Mudder, 2014). While no other companies have released demographic information, due to the similar nature of many of these events (excluding races geared exclusively toward women such as SHAPE Diva Dash © and Dirty Girl Mud Run ) it seems reasonable to assume that these demographics represent the participants in many of the extreme obstacle courses currently on the market. Sachs bring large groups to the events (Stein, 2012). Additionally, registration fees may exceed $200, depending on the race and when participants register. Considering the cost of entry, and the heavy participation of large companies, it might also be reasonably assumed that most participants are upper middle class. However, much of this is speculation. This study seeks to learn more about the demographics of who participates, as well as about the personality traits of those interested in extreme obstacle courses. Personality and Extreme Sports: The Big F ive While little is known about who participates in extreme obstacle courses, the study of who participates in other extreme sports is of great interest to many researchers. Specifically, researchers have studied whether certain personalities are drawn to extreme sports. Previous research on extreme sports has looked closely into whether participants of extreme sports rate higher on Extraversion and Openness than those who do not participate in ,-. ,/,&012.345,&406! 2,2&& ? & extreme sports. Extraversion is described as having an energetic approach towards life, while Openness describes the personality dimension related to the extent to which one lives their life (John, Naumann, & Soto, 2008). Kajtna, Tusak, Baric, and Burnik (2004) pitted high-risk sports participants against nonrisk sports participants and non-athletes. Participants of high-risk sports engaged in activities such as sky-diving, white water rafting, and downhill skiing. These individuals were found to be more extraverted than non-athletes, as well as more conscientious and emotionally stable. Similarly, Tok (2011) found participants of risky sports such as scuba diving, rock climbing, rafting, and surfing, to be higher in extraversion than non-participants. Regarding openness, Diehm and Armatas (2004) looked at personality and motivational differences between surfers (high-risk) and golfers (low-risk). The researchers found that the surfers in this study scored higher on openness to experience than the golfers, corroborating non extreme sports participants. Other studies have found somewhat conflicting results. Kajtna et al. (2004) actually found non-risk sports participants to be higher on openness than non-participants, whereas there was no difference between the two sports groups; the high-risk and non-risk sports participants were equally high. One possible explanation for this discrepancy in findings could lie in the definition of non-risk sports. Kajtna et al (2004) listed kayaking, sports climbing (rock climbing with anchors fixed to the rock for protection), and slalom skiing, as low-risk sports. While these sports may pose less risk than the sports in their high-risk category (e.g., skydiving), they still involve greater risk than golf, and indeed rock climbing was listed among the risky/adventure ,-. ,/,&012.345,&406! 2,2&& 7@& sports in the Tok (2011) study. Thus, the disagreement among which sports belong in what category, and the lack of specification regarding the degree of risk in each sport, may be causing the differing results for the openness trait. As extreme obstacle courses involve a number of risky obstacles (e.g., running through a field of hanging live wires and jumping over a wall), and often request that participants sign a death waiver prior to participating, it can be assumed that they would fall into the category of adventure/risky sports. Based on the similarities of EOCs to other extreme sports, one might predict that extraversion and openness would be associated with participation in EOCs. Why People Participate Why people participate in extreme obstacle courses is a question of motivation. One theory of motivation that may help explain why so many people are interested in these events is the self-determination theory (SDT). The self-determination theory classifies different types of motivation, and theorizes that three basic psychological needs, when met, increase the likelihood of being intrinsically motivated. According to Ryan and Deci (2000), motivation breaks into three categories: intrinsic, extrinsic, and amotivation. Amotivation identifies behaviors that are done unintentionally, and occur when the individual does not value the action or outcome of a behavior. Conversely, intrinsic motivation is described as the desire to perform an activity for the satisfaction of the activity itself. Between amotivation and intrinsic motivation is extrinsic motivation, which refers to the performance of an activity to achieve an external outcome. Extrinsic motivation breaks down into four forms: integrated, identified, introjected, and external. Integrated regulation refers to the point at which a behavior has been fully incorporated ly difference between integrated