Running for Success: Marathon Boom and Middle-Class Bodies in Estonia

Abstract

Since the turn of the millennium, the number of Estonians running at least one marathon a year has grown nearly twentyfold. This paper links the marathon boom in Estonia to novel ideas about the “good life” among a subset of the country’s middle class, also situating the phenomenon in the broader context of post-1991 socio-economic changes. Drawing on fifty narrative interviews with recreational runners and a content analysis of various runners’ blogs, the article pays special attention to “runners’ bodies.” Recreational marathoners consciously put their bodies at the service of their “selves” by submitting the body to regular physical strain, which fits with their distinctively middle-class ideals of self-discipline, motivation, diligence, and perseverance. But runners’ bodies are also “bodies for others”—they not only encapsulate but also display these ideals. Approaching runners’ bodies as “bodies for selves” and as “bodies for others,” the article makes two arguments. Firstly, a fit body as physical capital and the “purposeful suffering” that long-distance running almost inevitably leads to have recently shifted to the core of living a “good life” in the case of growing numbers of the Estonian middle class. Secondly, the “others” for middle-class runners’ bodies are first and foremost the sedentary and generally overweight bodies of their own class. For a subset of the Estonian middle class, a slim and fit running body, in combination with changed consumption practices and reference groups, serves to distinguish themselves from the generalised idea of a middle-class person in today’s Estonia.

Bodies as Arenas of Experimentation: Experiencing Novel Ways of Running

“…The pursuit of novel bodily experiences requires not only financial resources but also the availability of free time, and it is thus affordable to relatively privileged individuals. However, since I have discussed the relationship between middle-classness and recreational running elsewhere (Gross 2020), the topic will not be addressed explicitly here.…”

“… 6 Henrik’s mentioning of “self-worth” points to the moral dimensions of having a physically capable running body. As I have argued elsewhere (Gross 2020), recreational runners consciously submit their bodies to “purposeful suffering” (Atkinson 2008), which fits with the middle-class values of self-discipline, motivation, diligence, and perseverance. …”

Motivation of Marathon and Ultra-Marathon Runners. A Narrative Review

“…Meanwhile, weight concerns are significant but the least concerning health aspect. 30 , 43 Female runners are more likely motivated by weight concerns than male runners. 37 , 38 , 41 Novice marathon runners are more likely to be driven by weight concerns, but their importance decreases over time.…”

“…19 , 36 , 44 In a group of Estonian marathon runners, the authors noted that weight concern motivation has a deeper meaning and that the athletic body represents their ambitions, values, and even a source of self-confidence. 30 Runners who intend to lose weight and hold a personal goal to improve their general health are more likely to overtrain and represent a dedicated attitude towards running, even if it becomes detrimental to health. 38 , 43 These runners are less likely to be interested in achieving the specific outcomes of the marathon.…”

“… 59 Experiencing good pain, exhaustion, and suffering for other runners becomes part of this satisfaction. 30 …”