The rewarding effect of flow experience on performance in a marathon race

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Abstract

Objectives

This research aimed to shed light on the relationship between flow experience and performance in sports using a marathon race as an example. We hypothesized that flow influences the marathon race performance by an indirect rewarding effect. We assumed that the positive quality of flow experience rewards the pre-race running activity and thereby enhances training behavior which again leads to high race performance. A methodological issue of the this was to compare the retrospective with the experience-sampling measure of flow.

Design

Three studies with marathon runners (Ns = 109, 112, 65 for Studies 1, 2, and 3, respectively) were conducted.

Method

They measured flow experience four times during a marathon race either retrospectively (Studies 1 and 2) or using an experience-sampling method during the race (Study 3). Additionally race performance and future running motivation (Studies 1, 2, and 3), pre-race training behavior (Studies 2 and 3) and flow experience in training (Study 3) were measured.

Results

The results confirmed the hypothesis showing that flow during a marathon race is related to future running motivation, but is not directly linked to race performance. Instead, race performance was predicted by pre-race training behavior (Studies 2 and 3) which again was fostered by flow during the training (Study 3). The descriptive flow courses of the retrospective and the experience-sampling flow measures were comparable but also showed important differences.

Conclusions

We critically discuss the practical implications of the rewarding effect of flow on performance and the advantages of the retrospective and experience-sampling measure of flow.

Section snippets

How flow facilitates performance

The mechanisms how flow influences performances are based on the characteristics constituting the flow experience. The defining feature of this multifaceted phenomenon is the intrinsically rewarding experiential involvement in moment-to-moment activity that is accompanied by a positive experience quality (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990, Csikszentmihalyi et al., 2005). This main feature is responsible for further features as the merging of action and awareness, the altered sense of time and the sense of

Present research

In this research we analyze how flow influences performance in a marathon race. First hints about this mechanism come from previous studies testing the relationship between flow during a marathon race and the race performance. Stoll and Lau (2005) conducted two sophisticated studies with marathon runners who were asked about their flow experience during a marathon race directly after crossing the finishing line. In the first study the authors tested whether the flow experience predicted the

Study 1

In Study 1 we explored the course of flow during a marathon race. Additionally we tested the hypothesis that flow during a marathon race predicts future running motivation, but that it is unrelated to race performance.

Study 2

Study 2 aimed at replicating the result of Study 1 suggesting that flow is related to future running motivation but not to race performance. The additional measure of the pre-race training behavior allowed testing an important link within our assumed mediation model in which we hypothesized that race performance is predicted by the pre-race training behavior. Additionally, Study 2 was designed to enhance confidence in the flow retrospective measure by confirming the flow course of Study 1.

Study 3

Study 3 measured flow during the training, pre-race training behavior and race performance and therefore allowed testing the whole mediation model. We hypothesized that flow during training enhances pre-race training behavior which again leads to high performance in the marathon race. By additionally measuring the intended running time and flow during the race, we could compare the results of Study 3 with the results of Studies 1 and 2. An important methodological aspect that differentiated

General discussion

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between flow and running performance in a marathon race. We examined whether flow influences performance directly or whether flow enhances training motivation prior to the race which then enhances race performance. The results of our three studies strongly support the indirect effect of flow on performance. In none of the studies flow during the race was directly associated with race performance. Instead, flow was associated with a high

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