Psychogeography of a Marathon Runner: An Exploratory EEG Approach

Much research has been conducted on psychological states during exercise, over various levels of intensity and duration. Previous studies have explicated physical and mental benefits of endurance exercise, and psychological predictors of performance. This study contributes to that body of research u...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of sport behavior Vol. 42; no. 4; pp. 415 - 440
Main Authors Bailey, Andrew W, Hungenberg, Eric
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Mobile Journal of Sport Behavior 01.12.2019
Subjects
Anxiety
Coping
Electroencephalography
Human performance
Marathons
Pain
Physiology
Researchers
Running
Studies
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Summary:Much research has been conducted on psychological states during exercise, over various levels of intensity and duration. Previous studies have explicated physical and mental benefits of endurance exercise, and psychological predictors of performance. This study contributes to that body of research using a novel approach of recording brainwave patterns through encephalography (EEG) during a marathon. Twelve runners (five female, seven male, Mean age = 31) wore portable EEG headsets for the entire race and post-hoc analyses illustrated changes in mental state attributable to distance, finish time, gender, age, experience, altitude gain, and restorative quality of the environment. Principal components regression confirmed retrospective research, asserting that a marathon consists of three psychological stages. Runners are more alert in stage one, then begin to shift toward a rhythm at mile 11 and demonstrate an inward mental shift from mile 18 to the finish. There was little variation in mental state attributable to the independent variables, though males demonstrated higher frontal theta (i.e.inward attention) in stage two, while females exhibited higher global alpha (i.e. relaxation). Results are discussed with regard for previous research and pragmatics of training, sport psychology, and course design.
ISSN:0162-7341
2641-3477