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ABSTRACTDespite considerable growth in understanding of various aspects of sporting and exercise embodiment over the last decade, in-depth investigations of embodied affectual experiences in running remain limited. Furthermore, within the corpus of literature investigating pleasure and the hedonic dimension in running, much of this research has focused on experiences of pleasure in relation to performance and achievement, or on specific affective states, such as enjoyment, derived aftercompleting a run. We directly address this gap in the qualitative literature on sporting and exercise embodiment by contributing novel insights on the mind-body pleasures of running via focusing analytic attention towards the pleasures recalled by runners as experienced duringpositive, rewarding running experiences. Applying conceptual insights drawn from sociological phenomenology, we analyse data from an in-depth, event-focused interview study with distance runners who reported positive, rewarding experiences in recent recreational runs. Through reflexive thematic analysis, we present findings in relation to three themes: (1) ‘running feels like it should’; (2) sensory engagements; and (3) time out. The study contributes fresh perspectives, both conceptually and in relation to data-collection approach, to a small literature on the lived experience of pleasure in sport, exercise and physical cultures.

This study examined the metacognitive processes and attentional focus of recreational endurance runners. The emphasis was on understanding the metacognitive processes important to acquire, develop, and refine cognitive strategies in novice endurance exercise participants. The potential impact of metacognitive processes and cognitive strategies on longer-term endurance activity adherence was also of interest. To meet these aims, ten recreational runners were interviewed to retrospectively explore metacognitive processes and attentional focus during running. Data were analysed using deductive and inductive content analyses. The data revealed that runners engaged in a relatively limited array of metacognitive skills and may not possess a detailed knowledge of task-specific attentional strategies to regulate cognition. Few runners engaged in metacognitive planning or reviewing by themselves, for example. Cognitive strategies were developed with experience, however, and often as a consequence of unpleasant, effort-related sensory experiences. Other, more experienced runners were also influential sources for cognitive strategy acquisition. These findings are novel within an endurance activity context. Based on our interpretation of the findings, we propose that interventions to enhance metacognitive abilities and assist novice endurance participants to acquire, develop, and refine task-appropriate cognitive strategies, may be important to longer-term endurance activity adherence.