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Review
. 2018 Sep 18;6(3):99.
doi: 10.3390/sports6030099.

A Brief Review of Personality in Marathon Runners: The Role of Sex, Age and Performance Level

Pantelis T Nikolaidis  1 , Thomas Rosemann  2 , Beat Knechtle  3
Affiliations
Review

A Brief Review of Personality in Marathon Runners: The Role of Sex, Age and Performance Level

Pantelis T Nikolaidis et al. Sports (Basel). .

Abstract

The participation of recreational runners in sport events ranging from 5 km to ultra-endurance races have increased dramatically during the last decades and this phenomenon has attracted scientific interest. Most research has focused on the physiological characteristics of these runners and less in their psychological characteristics. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to review the existing knowledge with regards to the personality of recreational endurance runners and the role of sex, age and performance. It was concluded that limited information was available with regards to the personality of recreational marathon runners. So far, our knowledge on the personality of marathon runners relied on studies conducted a few decades ago, mostly on competitive marathon runners, highlighting the need for original research on recreational runners.

Keywords: aging; endurance; gender; marathon; master athletes; personality traits; psychology.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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