Welcome to the Motivations of Marathoners Web site
Kevin Masters and I developed the Motivations of Marathoners Scales (MOMS). Kevin first briefly assessed motives in his dissertation. After finishing his dissertation, he thought it might be a good idea to develop a more sophisticated instrument for assessing motives for running the marathon. We worked together to review the studies available at the time. Most studies reported on interviews with marathon runners that included some qualitative assessment of the most frequently occurring reasons for running. We accumulated these and other literature and identified nine re-occurring themes (within four broad areas) that were reported by runners as reasons for participating in marathons. We then developed a pool of items for each of the themes and pilot tested them. Using statistical techniques, we then selected the best items. The final result was a 56 item measure with 9 scales within 4 areas. A full scientific description of the instrument development is included in the following article:
Masters, K. S., Ogles, B. M., & Jolton, J. A. (1993). The development of an instrument to measure motivation for marathon running: The motivations of marathoners scales (MOMS). Research Quarterly in Exercise and Sport, 64, 134-143.