Author(s)

Bailey Thompson, Kristin Mauldin, Keisha Hart

College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, California Baptist University, Riverside, CA, USA.

Extreme and fringe-type sports have been known to attract distinct personality types compared to traditional sports (references needed). In the present study, we examine one such specialized group of runners called the Marathon Maniacs, who focus on frequency of marathons rather than speed or “winning”. The personality traits and mental toughness of Marathon Maniacs were assessed in an effort to understand the factors that contribute to their interest and participation in such an extreme lifestyle. A total of forty-two participants (Age M = 47.95, SD = 9.68; 20 males (47.6%), 22 females (52.4%)) filled out two measures of personality, the NEO Five-Factor Inventory 3 (NEO-FFI-3) and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI Form M), and one measure of mental toughness, the Inventory of Mental Toughness Factors in Sport (IMTF-S). Finally, participants were asked two qualitative questions (“How did you first get into running?” and “Why do you run now?”) to provide a deeper understanding of participants’ motivational source. Results showed that Marathon Maniac members were low in neuroticism, high in openness and conscientiousness, displayed significantly different proportions of MBTI type including a highly overrepresented type INTJ, and lower in mental toughness than the norm sample. The interpretation of these results is discussed along with participants’ responses to their motivational source for continued participation in this extreme lifestyle.

Personality, Running, Endurance Athlete

Thompson, B. , Mauldin, K. and Hart, K. (2023) Personality and Mental Toughness of the Marathon Maniac. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 11, 376-391. doi: 10.4236/jss.2023.1112027.