Why Do People Run Marathons?人们为何热衷于跑马拉松？

At the 1896 Olympics in Athens， the first organised marathon involved only 17 athletes.

在1896年的雅典奥运会上，首届有组织的马拉松比赛仅有17位选手参加。

Marathoning has come a long way1 since. We also now understand a great deal more about the science of long-distance running， from its health impacts to the psychological motivations.

从那以后，马拉松比赛已取得长足发展。从对健康的影响到跑者的心理动因，我们现在对长跑也有了远多于以往的科学认知。

So， what are the benefits of running a marathon， and why are the races so popular？

那么，跑马拉松究竟有何益处？为什么人们如此热衷于参加马拉松赛事呢？

With no hopes of winning a gold medal or getting one’s name etched in sport history books， some may wonder why people run marathons at all. The training requires a major commitment of time， energy and sweat， and the races can be gruelling.

或许有人不解：既然无望赢得金牌，也不会留名体育史册，人们到底为什么要跑马拉松？更何况马拉松训练需要付出大量的时间、精力和汗水，比赛亦可让人筋疲力尽。

Yet despite that， marathon participation in the US has risen 255% since 1980， and applications for the London Marathon have grown every year since the first race in 1981， which had 7，747 runners. In 2018， the number of worldwide marathon finishers was estimated to be 1，298，725.

尽管如此，自1980年起，美国的马拉松参赛人数仍增长了255%。伦敦马拉松自1981年首届7747人参赛，此后报名人数逐年递增。2018年，全球马拉松完赛人数估计有129万8725人。

The most obvious reasons why people run them are the positive health and mental well-being effects. While some people worry about the harms you can do to your body if unprepared， the overall health benefits tend to significantly outweigh any risks with proper training. The benefits for weight loss and cardiovascular health are well known， but research is continually unveiling new upsides. Running marathons cuts years off your “artery age”， for example， and a study led by Astrid Roeh at the University of Augsburg showed a possible relationship between improved cognitive function and greater eye health as a result of marathoning.

人们之所以热衷于跑马拉松，最明显的原因是这项运动能为身心健康带来积极影响。尽管有人担忧，没有锻炼基础就去跑马拉松可能会造成身体损伤，但经过合理训练，该运动对全身健康的益处往往远超任何风险。众所周知，跑马拉松有益于减肥以及心血管健康，而且不断有研究证明该运动有更多益处——比如能够为动脉“减龄”。此外，由奥格斯堡大学阿斯特丽德·勒主持的一项研究显示，更好的认知功能与更健康的双眼之间可能存在联系，而这种联系是跑马拉松产生的结果。

But what about the psychological motivations？ Each runner will give you different answers.

那么，人们参赛的心理动因又是什么呢？每位跑者对此有不同的答案。

“It’s the feeling of accomplishment I get crossing the finish line that keeps me coming back，” says Matt Huff， a New Yorker and author of Marathoner： What to Expect When Training for and Running a Marathon. “There is a surge to it you don’t get from other sports， because the sheer amount of time and effort that goes into a single marathon dwarfs2 that of an individual soccer game or tennis match. ‘Can you push yourself through enough hell to finish’ is the only question.”

“正是冲过终点线那一刻的成就感不断吸引我重返马拉松赛道。”来自纽约、著有《马拉松跑者：训练和比赛时会发生什么》一书的马特·赫夫如是说，“这种成就感之强烈，其他任何运动都难以企及，因为单是一场马拉松所需倾注的时间与精力就足以让一场足球赛或网球赛相形见绌。唯一的问题在于，你是否能在困境中逼自己咬牙坚持直至冲过终点。”

For other runners， rising above physical limitations is part of the appeal. Tom Eller is a deaf-born marathoner who lives in Essen， Germany， and has run 11 marathons. He ran a 2：47：11 in the 2019 Berlin Marathon， making him the fastest deaf German marathon runner. Eller， who teaches deaf and blind students， says， “I challenge my life， which has communications barriers， by running marathons around the world to show people that even disabled people can achieve great things. For my deaf kids and teenagers at school， I am a role model.”

对其他跑者而言，跑马拉松的部分魅力源自超越自身极限。来自德国埃森市的汤姆·埃勒是位先天失聪的马拉松爱好者，他已经参加了11场马拉松比赛。在2019年的柏林马拉松比赛中，他以2小时47分11秒的好成绩成为德国最快的聋人马拉松跑者。作为聋盲学生的老师，埃勒表示：“我通过在全球各地参加马拉松比赛来挑战自己充满沟通障碍的人生，以此向世人证明，即便是残障人士也能成大事。对学校里的失聪儿童和青少年来说，我是一个榜样。”

And for Kailey Bennet， a faculty assistant at Harvard University， marathons help her transcend her epilepsy. But mainly she runs because it is a way to experience other cultures. “It’s how I explore the world，” she explains. “I firmly believe one of the best ways to experience a new city is on their marathon day.”

对哈佛大学的助教凯莉·贝内特来说，跑马拉松帮助她挣脱了癫痫病的枷锁，但她跑马拉松主要是因为这是一种体验其他文化的途径。“这就是我探索世界的方式。”她解释道，“我坚信，参加一座城市的马拉松比赛是体验城市文化的绝佳途径之一。”

However， while every runner has different personal reasons， there are some general trends that researchers have observed underpinning people’s attraction to racing over long distances. A study from researchers at the Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education in Poland found that “proving the ability to run a marathon race constituted an important life event for a person” and that it could impact their beliefs about the successful execution of potential future achievements.

尽管每位跑者的初衷不尽相同，但研究人员注意到，支撑人们喜爱长跑的有几种普遍趋向。波兰卡托维兹体育学院的一项研究表明，“证明自己能够跑完一场马拉松对个人而言是一件人生大事”，而且跑马拉松的经历还能影响他们的信念——相信自己未来可能会取得某些成就。

Carys Egan-Wyger at Sweden’s Lund University found that aspects of daily life are tangibly and measurably mirrored in marathon running， such as the tracking of progress， along with the necessity of productivity and efficiency. Across her interview subjects， runners tended to cite three primary motivators： freedom， achievement and competition.

瑞典隆德大学的卡里斯·伊根-威格发现，日常生活的方方面面都切实而显著地体现在马拉松这项运动中，例如对进度的跟踪，以及对生产率和效率的要求。在她的采访对象中，跑者普遍提到三个主要动因：追求自由、实现自我和享受拼搏。

But less obviously， Egan-Wyger also suggests endurance running can also be a way of gaining social status. Showing you are capable of a long-distance race projects qualities of health， productivity and efficiency to others， she argues， akin to cultivating a personal brand. This effect is only supercharged through social fitness apps that allow runners to share their achievements.