Running, identity and meaning : the pursuit of distinction through sport / Neil Baxter.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Baxter, Neil, author.

Series:

Emerald studies in sport and gender.

Emerald studies in sport and gender

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Running--Social aspects.

Running.

Sports--Sociological aspects.

Sports.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (233 pages)

Place of Publication:

Bingley, England : Emerald Publishing, [2021]

Summary:

Over the last forty years, running has grown from a niche sport for a handful of committed club athletes into one of the Western world's most popular pastimes. In Running, Identity and Meaning, Neil Baxter asks: What kinds of people have been drawn to running in such numbers? What do they seek from the sport? And what does running's popularity tell us about ourselves and the society we live in today? Delving into the great paradox of running: that despite its low cost of entry and inclusive ethos, the sport remains riven by inequalities, Baxter showcases how gender, class, age and ethnicity influence whether and how different groups participate in the sport, and explores its role in the reproduction of social structure and the search for distinction. By considering running simultaneously as a technique of self-cultivation, a social field in which forms of capital and status are at stake, and an important source of meaning and identity for millions of people across the world, this book equips readers to understand the many diverse links between the sport, society, and individual identities.

Contents:

chapter 1. Introduction : why running matters

chapter 2. Researching running : embodiment, lifestyle and identity

chapter 3. The evolution of a field : a brief history of running as sport in Britain

chapter 4. Running the numbers : quantitative insights and a map of the field

chapter 5. Disciplining body and mind : running as a technique of the self

chapter 6. The price and the meaning of success : training, competition and performance

chapter 7. Running places : how the sites of running matter

chapter 8. Conclusions : running, society and identity.

Notes:

Includes index.

Includes bibliographical references.

Print version record.

ISBN:

1-80043-366-2

1-80043-368-9

OCLC:

1257077235