University of Jyväskylä | JYX Digital Repository

  • English  | Give feedback |
    • suomi
    • English
 
  • Login
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.
View Item 
  • JYX
  • Opinnäytteet
  • Pro gradu -tutkielmat
  • View Item
JYX > Opinnäytteet > Pro gradu -tutkielmat > View Item

"That is why I gave in to age my competitive ability but not my soul!" : a spiritual journey in endurance running

Thumbnail
View/Open
167.3 Kb

Downloads:  
Show download detailsHide download details  
Authors
Ronkainen, Noora
Date
2011
Discipline
LiikuntapsykologiaSport and Exercise Psychology

 
In this article, I explore the spiritual dimensions of running. I draw on theological and existential perspectives, athletic career research as well as post-sport ideologies to construct a multi-voiced representation of the spiritual meanings of endurance running current in Finnish running culture(s). Through narrative, analysis, reflexivity, interpretation and theorizing this study aimed to gain a deeper understanding of how distance runners negotiate dominant discourses on sport and exercise in the process of making running meaningful to them. In the analysis I examined the Finnish runner’s magazine Juoksija for the years 2001-2010. Over this time span studied, I found a variety of data discussing the spiritual dimension of running, including editorials, interviews, columns and research-based popular articles. From these sources I selected 34 columns written by 17 different authors for an in-depth discourse analysis. In exploring the content of the magazine over the decade it became apparent that the diversity of authors and perspectives had increased, which partially reflected the wider changes that had occurred in Finnish runner culture over this time span. The research results suggest that existential aspects of running underlie, but remain dormant, in the dominant performance discourse of competitive sports. These spiritual and/or existential dimensions become especially meaningful, however, when transitioning from elite level sports. I suggest that finding the existential spirituality of running can be a protective element in athletic retirement, enabling the runner to sustain their athletic identity as a central life-narrative even after the transition. ...
Keywords
Juoksija (aikakauslehti) Diskurssianalyysi henkisyys hengellisyys juoksu työura kestävyysjuoksu
URI

http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-2011081211228

Metadata
Show full item record
Collections
  • Pro gradu -tutkielmat [25002]

Related items

Showing items with similar title or keywords.

  • Representing Tibetan Buddhism in books on spirituality : A discourse-historical approach 

    Sharapan, Maria (SAGE Publications, 2022)
    This article looks into how Tibetan Buddhism is framed in terms of East-West dichotomy in six popular books on Buddhism and spirituality. Discourse Historical Approach is employed to uncover the rhetorical representation ...
  • Yhteys tuonpuoleiseen - silta näkymättömään : kirjallisuuskatsaus henkisyyden ja hengellisyyden ilmenemisestä musiikkiterapiassa 

    Ketola, Ninamaria (2020)
    Tutkielman aiheena on henkisyyden ja hengellisyyden ilmeneminen musiikkiterapiassa. Henkisyyden ja hengellisyyden teemoja on viime aikoina tutkittu musiikkiterapiassa yhä enenevissä määrin. Kuitenkin moneen muuhun ...
  • Lajianalyysi ja valmennuksen ohjelmointi nuorelle naiskestävyysjuoksijalle : tavoitteena terveys ja hyvä harjoitettavuus 

    Hakulinen, Oona-Mari (2019)
    Johdanto. Yleisurheilussa arvokisojen kestävyysjuoksulajeja ovat 800-10000 metrin ratamatkat ja maraton, mutta nuorten kohdalla kaikkein pidempiin kestävyysmatkoihin keskittymien ei monilta osin ole vielä järkevää. ...
  • Serum hormone concentrations and physical performance during concurrent strength and endurance training in recreational male and female endurance runners 

    Hokka, Laura (2011)
    To investigate the effects of concurrent strength and endurance training on physical performance and serum hormone levels a total of 32 recreational endurance runners were trained for 18 weeks. Subjects were divided into ...
  • Neuromuscular, hormonal and oxidative stress responses to endurance running exercises in well-trained runners 

    Vuorimaa, Timo (Jyväskylän yliopisto, 2007)
    The aim of this study was to investigate to which type of running exercises well trained endurance runners respond more favourably with regard to acute neuromuscular and endocrinological responses and exercise-induced ...
  • Browse materials
  • Browse materials
  • Articles
  • Conferences and seminars
  • Electronic books
  • Historical maps
  • Journals
  • Tunes and musical notes
  • Photographs
  • Presentations and posters
  • Publication series
  • Research reports
  • Research data
  • Study materials
  • Theses

Browse

All of JYXCollection listBy Issue DateAuthorsSubjectsPublished inDepartmentDiscipline

My Account

Login

Statistics

View Usage Statistics
  • How to publish in JYX?
  • Self-archiving
  • Publish Your Thesis Online
  • Publishing Your Dissertation
  • Publication services

Open Science at the JYU
 
Data Protection Description

Accessibility Statement

Unless otherwise specified, publicly available JYX metadata (excluding abstracts) may be freely reused under the CC0 waiver.
Open Science Centre