Keep on running: A co-produced, evidence-based intervention for coaches to support beginner runners in maintaining behaviour change

Pedmanson, Pille (2025) Keep on running: A co-produced, evidence-based intervention for coaches to support beginner runners in maintaining behaviour change. Doctoral thesis, Plymouth Marjon University.

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Abstract

The aim of this PhD was to create a practical, evidence-based intervention that could support beginner runners with maintaining running after they have started. Running provides many health and wellbeing benefits, but often people do not continue long enough to reap these benefits. The PhD consisted of three qualitative studies to support the development, delivery, and evaluation of the intervention. The first study involved an analysis of a pre-existing, longitudinal dataset related to the experiences of 20 beginner runners. Thematic analysis was used to explore runners’ experiences through time, seeking to understand how some people maintained running and why others stopped. Sixty-five interviews were analysed to help inform the development of an intervention that supports beginner runners with maintaining running. The results demonstrated the dynamic nature of motivations, barriers, and support systems. Identifying a meaningful reason or “why” for running could support the maintenance of running by helping runners to prioritise running, to gain confidence, and to start to enjoy running. Some runners, however, experienced unequal life circumstances (e.g., related to health, wealth, caring responsibilities) that led to life getting in the way of running. Being disadvantaged by societal privileges limited the opportunity to progress and enjoy running, which in turn, led to stopping. The second study aimed to identify how these results could be transferred to a running club using co-production. Thirteen coaches, 23 runners, and five applied practitioners took part in the study involving focus group workshops, observations, and situated interviews. The outcome of this study was an intervention, which integrated Study 1 findings, participant feedback from Study 2, and behaviour change literature with the aim of increasing coaches’ skills, knowledge, and confidence in supporting beginner runners with maintaining running. The co-produced intervention, “Keep on Running: The 5 Pillars of Support” consisted of five interrelated Pillars; Purpose, Progress, People, Planning and Play, which broadly covered motivation, confidence, social support and inclusivity, self-regulation, and enjoyment, respectively. The aim of the intervention was to educate running club coaches on the psychological principles related to these Pillars. The third study delivered and evaluated the “Keep on Running – The 5 Pillars of Support” intervention at two running clubs through interactive workshops. A core group of 11 coaches took part in most of the workshops (five and six coaches in each club). The intervention was qualitatively evaluated using interviews, observations, surveys, and focus groups. Eight coaches were interviewed, and 10 coaches took part in the focus groups to understand how the intervention had influenced their coaching practices. The results showed that the intervention was well-received by coaches in both running clubs, demonstrating transferability. The intervention changed coaching practices and resulted in changes for the beginner running programmes. While some modifications are needed for the intervention, the preliminary evidence suggests the “Keep on Running – The 5 Pillars of Support” is a promising intervention that can be applied to other running clubs beyond this research. Overall, the results supported the complex nature of behaviour change, demonstrating how maintaining running can depend on many factors at an individual, social, and environmental level; all of these factors need to be considered in interventions. The key contribution was the creation of “Keep on Running – The 5 Pillars of Support”: a practical and evidence-based intervention that shows potential to be applied to running clubs nationwide. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first co�produced intervention that educates coaches on how to be more psychologically supportive of beginner runners and support runners with maintaining running.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Depositing User:	Ms Raisa Burton
Date Deposited:	05 Aug 2025 11:26
Last Modified:	05 Aug 2025 11:26
URI:	https://marjon.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/18010

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