Tenth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

In Poland, running and participation in mass running events such as marathons and half marathons have become popular in the 90s. and fulfills a number of factors, including enabling people to build a sense of connection and integration with other people, sporting community, becoming a postmodern form of participation in social life. Now, we observe a new trend, which is mass triathlon participation, the transformation between the need to invoke strong emotions and seek them in more difficult sports disciplines and travel to participate in the event. This project examines the relationship between cultural change processes and the practice of running and the practice of triathlon in Poland. The main goal of the research is to show that the socio-cultural tendency that made the development and growth in mass sporting events participation in Poland possible has been influenced by two general trends. The first is the spread of post-materialist values that have an influence on a change in the prevailing cultural tendencies. The second is the massive increase of individualization processes, where beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors of individuals are increasingly based on personal decisions and depend less on tradition and social institutions. The presented work is based on the literature review which shows: changes in active participation in sporting life in Poland. People participate in sporting events not only for physical activity but also for socio-psychological effects. The experienced runners need comprehensive physical activity and experience strong emotions, which are at the top of the hierarchy of post-modern human needs.