The Perception and Views of Leisure-Time Runners on Marathon Running and Related Health Services in Turkey

Introduction: The frequency and numbers of activities of marathon running in Turkey are overwhelming, but a documentation on participants is missing. We, therefore, aimed to know the perception and view of leisure-time runners (LTR) on the marathon and related health services. Materials and Methods: Sixty-three LTR agreed and gave verbal consent to participate. Participants were purposefully selected (purposive sample) from the community of LTR. The survey included 22 questions. The survey was piloted with ten LTR and the results of the pilot questionnaire were not included in the final dataset. Results: The mean age of participants was 37.2 (range 20-61); 11 (31%) were female and 36 (69%) were male; 20 (32%) were single, 36 (56%) were married, and 5 (8%) divorced/widowed. The reason for running was as follows: to stay healthy (49; 36%), to keep fit (34; 26%), to minimize risk factors of disease (25; 19%), to lose weight (15; 11%), and to get socialized (10; %8). Forty-six (%72) practiced sports in their youth. Ten (17%) had a chronic condition and 6 (11%) were on a drug treatment for their condition. Conclusion: Since these athletes were formerly sedentary and might harbor latent risk factors, which could be provoked during after strenuous activities like marathons, the provision of a rigorous screening for this athletes should be provided.