British Nonelite Road Running and Masculinity

Abstract

A figurational framework is employed to analyze aspects of the phenomenon of mass nonelite road running in Britain, using data derived primarily from a series of 48 in-depth interviews with a range of participants. More particularly, the article explores the motivations of nonelite runners in the context of social change over their life course. It argues that many changes in Britain since the 1950s have involved shifts in power ratios to the relative disadvantage of the middle-class men in their thirties and forties, who dominate the entry at many events and have undermined traditional bases of masculine identity in work and the home. The data indicate that many nonelite runners, male and female, believe they enjoy the respect and admiration of nonparticipants through a demonstration of physical prowess that running long distances involves, a capacity traditionally more closely associated with the male.

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