Hi everyone, hope you are all great! Apologies this edit is slightly later this month. I am immigrating to Australia shortly and under-estimated just how busy life would become! Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy April’s Edit as we discuss how running can enhance social connections.
I have been a keen runner for a couple of years now and completed my first marathon earlier this month. Before moving to Edinburgh for my MSc, I had always run solo or, on the odd occasion, with a friend. I used to live next to the Meadows, and those who are familiar with Edinburgh know the Meadows is a runner’s playground. I started to notice just how many running groups met at the Meadows before taking off around the city. Being a newbie, I joined a female running club in the hope of meeting some like-minded people. Little did I know at the time that I would make some great friends. I guess that is one of the beauties of sport and physical activity, the environment fosters a sense of belonging and connection as it attracts like-minded, good-spirited individuals who come together to share an interest, hobby, and passion.
My experience inspired the focus and direction of my MSc dissertation, titled, “We’re more than just a running group”; A qualitative study exploring if, and how, jogscotland groups build social connections.
‘Running as a form of physical activity can significantly improve mental wellbeing by reducing the prevalence of anxiety, stress and depression (Carter et al., 2021; Singh et al., 2023). Recreational running (i.e. running for leisure rather than for competitive incentives) and the growth of community running groups have increased massively over the years. This is due to a low entry barrier as it is a relatively low-cost activity requiring minimal equipment, and also inclusivity as many running groups welcome individuals of all ages, experience and ability (jogscotland, 2024; Parkrun, 2023).’
‘Social connection/connectedness is linked to the sense of belonging people feel with each other and groups of individuals. This feeling is so important to the development and enhancement of individuals (Hold-Lunstad, 2022).’
‘Parkrun is a leading example of a community running initiative, providing free weekly 5km events that are inclusive, accessible and where participants are encouraged to ‘move’ for 5km through running, jogging or walking. Worldwide, Parkrun has enabled 11.5 million people to participate across 2022-23. jogscotland is a Scottish recreational running network that offers 339 groups across the country to everyone regardless of age, gender, ethnicity and other characteristics. Membership is free and jogscotland brand their groups as being a “sociable, supportive environment” for all”.
When interviewing the participants involved in my research (who were all members of jogscotland running groups), common discussions and themes around how being a member of a jogging group helped to enhance their social connections came to light.
Many participants expressed how running (in a jogscotland group) was the core activity that initially brought runners together and seemed to be the basis for social connections and relationships between one another. Participants alluded to further developing connections with each other during social activities outwith running:
“I have a social calendar now that goes wider than just the sessions…I keep it on my wall…it’s great because the alternative would just be sitting in the house alone now my kids have moved out”.
“There’s a wee group of us from the club, and we often meet for brunch at the weekend”.
Other participants expressed joining a social running group has increased their confidence when meeting like-minded people:
“The nature of running is that everyone shares some sort of similarity or interest which makes it easier when meeting new people”.
“It’s nice to see people start bringing their partners and parents down to the group… everyone just gets on”.
The responses from the participants support the notion that social running groups are an effective way to enhance the feeling of being connected and involved with others while also maintaining positive physical and mental well-being through being physically active.
If you are interested in joining a jogscotland group. You can find out more here.
Hope you have enjoyed this read! 😊
References:
Carter, T., Pascoe, M., Bastounis, A., Morres, I. D., Callaghan, P., & Parker, A. G. (2021). The effect of physical activity on anxiety in children and young people: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of affective disorders, 285, 10-21.
Singh, B., Olds, T., Curtis, R., Dumuid, D., Virgara, R., Watson, A., … & Maher, C. (2023). Effectiveness of physical activity interventions for improving depression, anxiety and distress: an overview of systematic reviews. British journal of sports medicine, 57(18), 1203-1209.
jogscotland. (2024). Join jogscotland. https://jogscotland.org.uk
Parkrun. (2023). Parkrun Global Annual Report 2022-23. Accessed 17 July, 2024, from https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zauAMyw9 0mm7rlKSL7omLNd7UiWInOe/view
Holt-Lunstad, J. (2022). Social connection as a public health issue: the evidence and a systemic framework for prioritizing the “social” in social determinants of
health. Annual Review of Public Health, 43, 193-213. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-052020-110732
