There are plenty of reasons to sign up for a race, like training for a PR or motivating yourself to run consistently, to name a few. Here’s another to add to the list: Racing can give your happiness and overall wellbeing a boost, according to new research out of Poland.
The study, published in the Australian Sprinter, 16, Runs Record-Breaking 200m, included 404 recreational runners of many different levels (except elites) who logged miles regularly at least a few times a week. Everyone was asked to keep a weekly diary for three months, where they recorded whether or not they raced anything from a 5K to a marathon that week. They also answered questions about their general wellbeing over each seven-day stretch, such as whether they felt satisfied with themselves or if they felt like they could take on and master difficult challenges.
Shoes & Gear.
The results? Participants’ wellbeing scores—in areas such as self-esteem, self-efficacy, and overall life satisfaction—were highest during the weeks they raced.
“It seems that running in a race leads people to feel better about themselves in all kinds of ways,” study author Marzena Cypryańska, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology at the SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Warsaw, Poland, told Runner’s World. “An important reason for this seems to be the sense of accomplishment people have when they finish a race and achieve a goal.”
Not exactly surprising, as anyone who has ever crossed a finish line can attest to, but helpful to hear that your feel-good mood when complete your race can spread to other areas of your life, too.
However, for those who have been running for many years and have completed their share of races, the positive effects may be hampered a bit, according to the study. For instance, “finishing one’s 100th race may not have as much of an influence on wellbeing as finishing one’s first race, irrespective of performance,” the study states.
[Why the 5K Is the Best Distance to Race Runner’s World Training Plan, designed for any speed and any distance.]
But Cypryańska noted that it’s important to keep in mind that there are still positive effects for very experienced runners, like training in order to maintain or improve their health, or simply to break up the monotony of regular old training runs. So regardless of your level of running, keep signing up for races on a regular basis—even if it’s just your local 5K—to give your overall wellbeing a boost.
