Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Jul 25:5:1192401.
doi: 10.3389/fspor.2023.1192401. eCollection 2023.

Ultra culture-ultra reality: a content analysis of YouTube depictions of ultra endurance sport and comparisons to scientific literature

Jill Colangelo  1 , Alexander Smith  1 , Ana Buadze  2 , Michael Liebrenz  1
Affiliations

Ultra culture-ultra reality: a content analysis of YouTube depictions of ultra endurance sport and comparisons to scientific literature

Jill Colangelo et al. Front Sports Act Living. .

Abstract

Introduction: Interest in ultra endurance sport (UES) is increasing, with relevant events growing in popularity. However, these activities may encompass more complex characteristics and demands that do not correspond to scientifically validated correlations between physical activity and improved health. It is unknown whether high volume training for UES can have adverse implications, although certain sociocultural aspects of western society, such as an emphasis on autonomy and self-directed success, may encourage participation as a representation of personal achievement. As media depictions of UES can be highly influential, we aimed to explore prominent messages to better comprehend the values and aspirations of established and aspiring ultra endurance athletes (UEA).

Methods: Using qualitative, conventional content analysis techniques, we evaluated n = 15 popular YouTube videos on various UES to synthesize the most common themes. A YouTube search was conducted, and videos were selected based on sport and relevance. Subsequently, videos were analyzed and coded to discern the most frequently repeated themes.

Results: Five recurring themes were identified: discussion of the mental aspects of UES participation; the adoption of folk-tale storytelling; dietary habits of UEA; a focus on pain and suffering; the use of words associated with mental illness as a colloquial descriptor of UES/UEA.

Discussion: YouTube depictions of UES participation appear to accentuate suffering and co-occurring phenomena as attractive qualities. These resonate with sociocultural ideologies in western contexts, which emphasize fitness and personal success, but appear inconsistent with evidence around potentially adverse health-related implications of UES.

Conclusion: Discrepancies between popular portrayals of UES and scientific evidence suggest a need for greater community education and information sharing about sport-specific risk factors for physical and mental health conditions and appropriate training protocols. Further research is also required to better define the relationship between motivations for UES participation and overall health using interdisciplinary approaches.

Keywords: media; sport culture; sports medicine; sports psychiatry; ultra endurance athletes; ultra endurance sport.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

References

    1. Murphy N, Lane A, Bauman A. Leveraging mass participation events for sustainable health legacy. Leis Stud. (2015) 34(6):758–66. 10.1080/02614367.2015.1037787 - DOI
    1. Scheer V. Participation trends of ultra endurance events. Sports Med Arthrosc Rev. (2019) 27(1):3–7. 10.1097/JSA.0000000000000198 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Knechtle B, Nikolaidis P. Ultra-marathon running. (2015). Available at: https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/114975 (Cited March 15, 2023).
    1. Zaryski C, Smith DJ. Training principles and issues for ultra-endurance athletes. Curr Sports Med Rep. (2005) 4(3):165. 10.1097/01.CSMR.0000306201.49315.73 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bernstein EE, McNally RJ. Exercise as a buffer against difficulties with emotion regulation: a pathway to emotional wellbeing. Behav Res Ther. (2018) 109:29–36. 10.1016/j.brat.2018.07.010 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources