Das esteiras para as ruas: fatores que levam os alunos usuários de academias à prática de corridas de rua

Abstract

The phenomenon of road running has been showing to not be just fashion, but rather an option of physical activity to people of diverse backgrounds. The statistics feature increasing numbers of participants and events year by year. On weekends, thousands of people take the roads of most cities in search for quality of life. The gyms realized they could use the races as a way to strengthen the bonds with their customers and event planners see fitness spaces users a target public with a high purchasing power. In this research, we seek to identify the main factors that contribute to mix regular practice of exercises in not fully controlled environments to those developed in the formal spaces of the gyms. To validate our investigation, we split the study in two articles. In the first article, entitled "The theory of needs and the pursuit of excitement: What takes the runners to the roads", we try to find out if the theories about feeling gregarious and the quest for excitement contribute to induce gym attendees to take road racing into their regular practices. In the second article, entitled "From treadmills to the streets: Factors that lead gym attendees to turn into road racers" we seek to realize if there was echo between the theories and the feelings of the gym attendees. We found that the association of road races and workouts in gyms has multiple factors. However, the theoretical precepts studied are in accordance with the wishes of the users of both fitness centres and road events spaces.