Personality and mental toughness of the Marathon Maniac

Thompson, B., Mauldin, K. & Hart, K. (2023). Personality and mental toughness of the Marathon Maniac. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 11(12), 376-391.

Like many vocations, hobbies, and lifestyle pursuits, extreme sports attract distinct personality types. This study examined a 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 through the NEO Five Factor Inventory, the MBTI^® instrument, and the Inventory of Mental Toughness Factors in Sports. A total of forty-two participants, Age M = 48; 20 males (47.6%), 22 females (52.4%), completed the assessments.

Results showed that Marathon Maniac members were low in neuroticism, high in openness, and also in conscientiousness. MBTI results revealed overrepresentation of particular types and preferences. Notably, Marathon Maniac members were 7.52 times more likely to be INTJ types, 3.10 times more likely to be INFJ types, 2.47 times more likely to be INFP types, 1.88 times more likely to be ENFJ types, and 1.81 times more like to be ENTJ compared to a normative sample. Overrepresentation was also examined for preferences and found a strong overrepresentation of IN, NT, and TJ as these were 2.72, 1.94 and 1.76 times more frequent than what is represented in the representative sample.

ARTICLE PERMALINK: https://www.myersbriggs.org/research-and-library/journal-psychological-type/personality-and-the-marathon-maniac/

ARTICLE COMMENTS:

Use the form below to leave comments on this article summary for the research team and/or request a copy of the article by checking the box. Your name and email are required. Thank you.

FIRST NAME

LAST NAME

EMAIL

Please send me a copy of the article

Give us your thoughts on this article here:


Submit