Sports participation and cultural trends. Running as a reflection of individualisation and post-materialism processes in Spanish society

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between cultural change processes and the practice of running. The empirical basis is the national survey on Spanish sport habits carried out in 2005. Specifically, the subsamples of runners (n = 343) and other sport modalities (n = 2,687) were used. The study reveals that runners are characterised by more post-materialist and individualist tendencies than the rest of the participants. The results suggest the existence of a close relationship between the predominant cultural orientations and certain types of sport activity.