Spain

Abstract

According to the latest Survey on the Sport Habits of Spaniards (2010), 6.2% of the Spanish population between the age of 15 and 65 practises the sport of running. This percentage is slightly higher than the 4.5% registered five years earlier, and it makes running the fifth most important sport practised in Spain, after guided physical exercise (gym), football, swimming and cycling. After describing the evolution of the practice of running in the past 20 years, this chapter begins by offering a synthesis of the main studies on running carried out in Spain in the past few years from a sociological perspective. Factors that motivate people to practise running and participate in popular long-distance races were examined, as well as gender differences among the participants. The second section includes an analysis of the practice of running in Spain, based on results from the latest Survey of Sport Habits of Spaniards, carried out in 2010 and commissioned by the Superior Sports Council (CSD, its Spanish initials). Using the micro-data file of this survey, the socio-demographic characteristics of the runners were examined, as well as the frequency of the practice and other topics related to the manner and form of practising running. As a complement to this quantitative analysis, the third section focuses on studying the recent evolution of and boom in races in the cities of Barcelona and Valencia.