BSc (Honours) Events and Leisure Management

Sheffield Business School BSc (Honours) Events and Leisure Management The motivation factors of experienced or interested runners participate in Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon Chan Wun Chi 91206590 Month Year April 2011

Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Business School The motivation factors of experienced or interested runners participate in Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon Chan Wun Chi 91206590 Supervisor: Mr, Edic Sun In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Leisure Events Management. Month Year April 2011 1

Acknowledgements In authoring this dissertation, I would like to thank a number of people who give insights and guidance to this work, this word would not be complete without them. Included in this group are professional associates, colleagues, friends, and even family members in each case, individuals whose perspectives and opinions were very important to me. For sharing his researching experience in event planning and management, I would like to thank my supervisor Mr. Edit Sun. His comments on the material in the chapter covering my dissertation were invaluable. For their contributions on the dissertation covering information research, I would like to thank my uncle and sister, Edmund and Winnie. They help me to find a lot of books and give me suggestion. Last, but most certainly not least, I must acknowledge and thank my mother, Susan. She always supports me when I feel disappointed of my dissertation. She takes care of my diet; make me always full of energy. She is always by my side. 2

Abstract The aim of the dissertation is find out the motivational factors of experienced and interested people to take part in the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, understand the relationship between their motivations and independent variables, such like the demographics, gender, social status, perception and so on. Finally, it aims to provide recommendation for the event s organizers in planning and executing their events to satisfy people need. Literature review is the documentation of the published and unpublished work form secondary sources of data in the areas of specific interest to the researcher. The purpose of the literature review is to find out the information related to this topic. Such like the origin of marathon, the background of this event, the current sports trend, and the support form the government, the weakness of Leisure and Cultural Service Department, definition and classification of events, sport participation and marathon participation factors. The information is come from the academic book, related survey and organization website. Also, the media like newspaper and magazine. About the methodology, the research method used the quantitative method- questionnaire. Quantitative Method is a research method that relies less on interviews, observations, and small numbers of questionnaires, focus groups, subjective reports and case studies but is much more focused on the collection and analysis of numerical data and statistics. The 121 questionnaires distributed to experienced and interested runners of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. 3

Contents Acknowledgements.. p.2 Abstract.. p.3 Contents.. p.4 List of figures.. p.5 List of Tables.. p.6 Chapter 1 Introduction.. p.7 Chapter 2 Literature Review.. p.10 Chapter 3 Methodology.. p.22 Chapter 4 Results.. p.26 Chapter 5 Conclusions and Recommendations.. p.39 References.. p.41 Appendices.. p.44 4

List of Figure Figure 2.1 p.12 Figure 2.2 p.17 Figure 2.3 p.19 The number of participants of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon of 1997, 2000-2007 Four broad categories of special event Maslow s hierarchy of needs 5

List of Tables Table 4.1 p.29 Table 4.2 p.27 Table 4.3 p.28 Table 4.4 p.29 Table 4.5 p.30 Table 4.6 p.31 Table 4.7 p.32 Table 4.8 p.34 Age distribution among the respondents The experience or interest in Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon by gender The last race of respondents in Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon by gender The time spend on marathon training peer week by gender The situation of paying for marathon class by gender Channels for the event information Top six motivation factors of participating the Standard Chartered Hong Crosstabulation of Top 6 motivation factors between genders The chart of influences and perception of the Standard Chartered Hong Table 4.9 p.37 Kong Marathon 6

Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Reason for the research Community trend In Hong Kong, there is lots of voice concerning Should I join the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon? It seems that joining this event becomes a community trend. It has been said that Hong Kong people s lifestyles, their needs and wants are changing rapidly than before. People concern their physical health nowadays. They will take part in different sports in their leisure time. Also, Hong Kong Government promote the Sport-for-all has a long time. And the no of the participation in sports and physical activities is increasingly popular in Hong Kong. In a survey points out that the top five major sports activities, running (or jogging) is one of the most frequently practiced sports. Those stimulate know more about marathon. Personal interest It is worth for me to study because of several reasons. Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon is major sports event in Hong Kong. Being a running lover, I would like to know the origin of marathon and history of this event. Also, I am studying a degree in the Leisure and Event Management; it is worth for me to understand this event more. Therefore, I would like to find out the reasons behind the participation of experienced and interested runners. More, I would like to find out some ways that can improve this Hong Kong Brand Event and encourage people join this event. Secondly, I can learn better management in an event, like the event definitions, motivation theories and need theories. I am so interested in it. All factors are particularly 7

important in the event workplace. If I have as much as knowledge about this, I can be a good employee and organizer in the event. Aims The aim of this dissertation is to find out the motivational factors and the improvement of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. Objective There have three objectives in the dissertation: To find out the motivational factors of experienced and interested runners of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, To understand the relationship between the people motivations and independent variables, such like the demographics, social status, perception and so on, To provide recommendation for the event s organizers in planning and executing their events to satisfy people need. 1.2 The research impact In this dissertation, it will find out the relationship between the motivations and independent variables. So this dissertation can give advices and suggestion to the event organization and planner, educate them the motivational factors is important in the event and they should be concern about the three key elements of the event. It force the organizer more concern and understand the participant more. Therefore, they can eliminate the weakness but make improvement. And the event organizer can provide a better event s atmosphere to the participant. The participant would more rely on the local event rather than other leisure activities. 8

1.3 Structure of the report In this dissertation, the information come from the academic book, related survey, internet, newspaper and organization website. Literature review is the first part; it is support by academic information like academic book and the view of expert/professor. In the literature review, it is including the definition of special and sports event; and different motivational theories and need theories. Use information and data to show what are the detail of those factors. Some survey and governmental information will be used to explain the current trend. In the second part of this dissertation is the methodology, about the research method used and the research process in this dissertation. In this section, it is about the research detail, the period of the research, the target, the method and the evaluation of the research. Thirdly, analyses the data collected and evaluate it. The data would show by chart and picture. The research is based on my objective. Finally, there are the conclusion and recommendation at the end. 9

Chapter 2 Literature review Introduction In chapter 2, I would like to identify what are the definition of event and basic concept of motivation factors. These will be found by the academic book, related survey and organization website. And I am going to explain in the following. 2.1 The Origin of marathon The history of the marathon dated back to 2500 years old. The name "Marathon" came from the legend of Pheidippides, a Greek messenger. The legend stated that in 490 B.C., Pheidippides was sent from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been defeated in the Battle of Marathon which he had just fought. It is said that he ran approximately 24 miles to Athens without stopping and burst into the assembly, exclaiming 'We have won.' before collapsing and dying. In the nineteenth century, the marathon was born. Running race as a part of the modern Olympics was inaugurated in 1986 in Athens, Greece. In 1912 Olympics, the marathon distance was standardized at its current 26.2 miles. Until now, running still is a popular choice of sports. Fortunately, death has not been a frequent concern for marathon runners. According to Hal (2005), he said that marathon is a physical and mental endurance test for the human body, yet it is human nature to take the challenge. Over time, the marathon has gained worldwide acceptance and popularity and it has become a regular international event. According to Bloch (1993), he mentioned that marathoners are tiny and eccentric, and the thought of training for and participating in one for fun and recreation is beyond the 10

imagination of most people. The age of Marathon competitors ranges from the nine to nineties. The vast majority of marathon participants finish the race with sense of triumph and accomplishment and they are eager to do another. Clearly, the marathon has become an event for a wide variety of people. 2.2 The Background of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon The Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon has been an international marathon competition since 1997. The organizer, Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association, is a national sports association in Hong Kong. Standard Chartered Bank is the title sponsor over the past 16 years. The Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon is a collaboration of these two organizations, aims at promoting healthy lifestyle through marathon sport. The effort of Government Besides, the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon is a Brand Hong Kong Event and has been awarded "M" Mark Event in Hong Kong by the Major Sports Events Committee. It becomes a signature international sporting event in Hong Kong and was recognized as a "Brand Hong Kong Event" by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government., mentioned at the homepage of Standard Chartered Hong Kong (2010). Their effort was approbated by the Hong Kong Government. The large scale of participation In the past 16 years, the participants have increased continuously. In 1997, there were around 1,000 participants taking part in the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. Until 2007, the participants have set a record of over 40,000 runners. (Refer to Figure 2.1) It is not only a competition for the professional athletes but also a sporting event for participants with different skills and background. 11

Year 1997 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 10KM * 3,889 5,940 7,250 10,489 13,684 17,614 23,904 27,064 Half- 763 1,087 2,734 3,979 4,888 6,982 8,733 10,286 10,714 marathon Full- 313 1,458 1,846 2,345 3,009 3,658 4,983 5,984 6,178 marathon Total 1,076 7,154 10,520 13,574 18,386 24,324 31,330 40,174 43,956 *No 10 km race in 1997. Figure2.1 The number of participants of 1997 and 2000-2007 Source from the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association The race In order to promote the athletic sport in Hong Kong, the competition conducted three races for participants with different distances in 2000. The three races are the 10KM, half-marathon and full-marathon. The change resulted in increasing the numbers of the participators. The marathon proves to be an exciting motivation for a surprisingly large number of participants. The training workshop Also, The Hong Kong Amateur Athletics Association cooperated with the Hong Kong Polytechnic University to launch specific training workshops which provide a comprehensive training guidance to the participants. It costs around $400 to $800 with 290 limited quotes. 12

The route Further, the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon puts the effort to set different the routes with scenic view in the past. Those routes give a chance for the runners to enjoy the scene, such like the Ting Kau Bridge, Victoria Harbor, Tsing Ma Bridge and so on. The scenic view, together with fresh air explains why the event attracts a large number of participants over years. The special award Furthermore, the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon is a creative event which offers awards for participants with different achievements. There are some special awards, for example, Time Bonus and Asian Best Times Awards were introduced in 2002, and a special 10 th Anniversary Handover Cup was presented in 2007. Since 2005, the competition has become one of the four races of The Greatest Race on Earth which was a challenging virtual relay race across their four established marathons in Hong Kong, Singapore, Nairobi and Mumbai. This can reflect the importance of the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon in the Asia sports industry. 2.3 The Current sport trend The past survey about sport Participation in sports and physical activities is increasingly popular in Hong Kong. A telephone survey of 2,652 respondents, conducted by the Social Sciences Research Center of the University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong Sports Development, 1999), indicated that 54% of the Hong Kong adult population participated in at least one sports activity during 1998. This was comparatively higher than 1996 statistics which resulted in only 40 %. (Hong Kong Sports Development, 1996) Of the top five major sports activities, running (or jogging) is one of the most frequently practiced sports. The number of people who participate in sports has increased tremendously during the last decade. 13

A recent public opinion survey on physical exercise participation in Hong Kong revealed that 80% of Hong Kong people performed physical exercise during the previous three months in 2006. (The government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 2006) More, the high participation rate is reflected in the record number of 43,956 runners who took part in the 2007 Standard Chartered Marathon. This trend of increased participation in running as a form of physical activity is a popular sports event. (Refer to figure 2.1 and appendix) Effective physical exercise According to a health report by the U.S Department of Health and Human Service, regular physical exercise should be referred as any kind of moderate physical exercise lasting for at least 30 minutes in 3-5 days per week, with moderate physical exercise referred as the physical exercise level which raises heart beats, with sweating. To sum up, running is a popular sport in Hong Kong Marathon as a community sport with the high range of participation and the government support. 2.4 The Support from the Hong Kong Government The Budget plan According to <<The Budget 2011-2012>>, it statues that The Government has always attached great importance to sports development. We have taken an active role in promoting sport for all, developing elite sports and positioning Hong Kong as a leading location for international sports events. It gives a direction to the event industry and public, Hong Kong Government concern the development of the event industry in Hong Kong seriously. And Government will continue putting effort on support sports event in the future, such as the increase facilities, sports class and consider the long-term sports policy. 14

The Policy According to the policy initiative of Home Affairs Bureau, it said that For the sports development, Hong Kong Government aims to reinforce Hong Kong status as a centre for international sports events by helping national sports associations to organize sports events through the M Mark system. It is because over the past two years, Hong Kong has gained extensive experience in organizing major events by hosting the equestrian events of Beijing Olympics and the East Asian Games. The policy reflect that government using M Mark system as a tool to assist local sports event evolve into regular, market-oriented and profitable events. The M Mark Event The most important is Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon is one of twelve M Mark Event. So that Major Sports Event Committee can help Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association develop Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, such as provide professional advice, funding support, coordination of logistic support. 2.5 The Weakness of Leisure and Cultural Service Department According to the mention of Hong Kong Fact Sheet the main objective of the Leisure and Cultural Service Department is to enrich the community s quality of life through the promotion and provision of recreational and cultural facilities and activities. Leisure and Cultural Service Department provide various ranges of sports training classes or competitions to the public that aims to promote the concept sports-for-all to the public. The sports training classes provided by it including swimming, tennis, table tennis, square, yoga, dancing, basketball, gate ball and so on. However, it is not provide the marathon or running training class under the Community Recreation and Sports Program that the governmental department should provide the various types of training to the community. 15

Besides, public go on the website of the Leisure and Cultural Service Department, there can not search the marathon or running information which related to the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. But actually, marathon or running is one popular activity for the Hong Kong community. 2.6 Definition and classification of events Special event Getz (1997) defined that special event could separate from the view of point of organizer and customer. A special event is a one-time of infrequently occurring event outside normal programs or activities of the sponsoring or organizing body. To customer or guest, a special event is an opportunity for leisure, social or cultural experience outside the normal range of choices or beyond everyday experience. Besides, Shone and Parry (2004 citied in Goldblatt, 2001) mentioned that a special event recognized a unique moment in time with ceremony and ritual to satisfy special needs. According to Allen, et al, (2005) Special events has been coined to describe specific rituals, presentation, performances or celebrations that are consciously planned and created to mark special occasions or achieve particular social cultural or corporate goals and objectives. A simple version of special events definition was introduced by Shone and Parry (2004), a special event are those non-routine occasions set apart from the normal activity of daily life of a group of people does not necessarily give a feel for the specialized nature of the activity. There are many different definitions of special events, so Shone and Parry (2004) made a conclusion. We can say specialized because of the uniqueness of events, but also because such events may often be celebratory or even ceremonial in some way. This is an aspect that authors have highlighted. Sports event 16

According to Shone and Parry (2004), there are four broad categories of special events which based on the concept of event having leisure, cultural personal or organizational objectives. (Refer to Figure 2.2) Figure2.2 Four broad categories of special events Source from Successful Event Management: a practical handbook In figure2.2, Sports is one of the activities under the leisure concept. Sports events are growing in the event industry. Such events can attract the tourism visitors, public media coverage and the economic income. According to Allen et al., 2005, the sports events can benefit the government, community, sports organization and the participants such as the players, coaches and officials. Besides, sports events bring the entertainment and enjoyment to spectators. The Important of sports event Shone and Parry (2004) mentioned that events play an important role in human society that our daily life is events of all kinds. And events have the purpose of creating wealth or economic value in some ways, as well as of entertaining and cementing society. Both the sports and special event industries are service-driven with customer satisfaction 17

as the key to success. (Stedman, 1995) It also said that an event organizer should understand the needs of the customer. 2.7 Sport participation According to Shank (2005), sports participation can be decided by two major factors, the psychological or internal factors and sociological or external factors. Explained by Gilligan and Wilson (2003) also agreed that there were factors influencing the marathoners. These factors are important to understand the motivation behind the marathon. Psychological or internal factors Motivation According to Bull, et al., (2003), Motivation may be defined as force that leads people to seek certain goals in relation to their needs. In the sport and exercise psychologists motivation defined that motivation simply as the direction of effort and intensity of effort. (Sage, 1977) This can be further explained by the Maslow s hierarchy of needs. (Refer to Figure2.3) In relation to sports motivation, several writers refer to the work of Maslow (1954), and his hierarchy of needs. This suggests that people are motivated by various needs ranging from basic physiological needs to high-order ones such as those personal selffulfilment, as lower-order needs (level 4-5) are satisfied, people are then motivated by those of the next level. Maslow s hierarchy of need Maslow s hierarchy of need, illustrated in Figure2.3 popularized the idea that needs are the basis of motivation. 18

Figure 2.3 Maslow s hierarchy of needs Source from Motivation and Personality (1945) Level 1: Self achievement needs Level 2: Esteem needs (internal ones likes self respect, autonomy, achievement and external ones like status, recognition, attention) Level 3: Social and Belonging needs (affection, belonging, acceptance, friendship) Level 4: Safety needs (security, protection from physical and emotional harm) Level 5: Physiological needs (hunger, thirst, shelter, sex, exercise for health etc) As the following, the hierarchy of needs as it relates to participants in sport Physiological needs The first and most basic level of needs in Maslow s hierarchy is called physiological needs. There are the biological needs that people have to eat, drink and meet other physiological needs. For some individuals, there may be a physiological need to 19

exercise and have some level of activity. Once this lower order need is met, safety needs are addressed. Safety needs Safety needs are concerned with physical safety, as well as the need to remain healthy. Sports equipment manufacturers address the need participants have physical safety. With respect t to need for health, many participants cite that the primary reason for joining marathon is to maintain or improve their health. Then, it can make their psych safety since they feel relaxation and release the tension from the daily work. Love and belonging The next level is based on love and belonging. Many people choose to participant in sport because of the social aspects involved. For some individuals, sports participation is their outlet for being part of a group and interacting with others, in order to satisfy the need to be part of a team or to be respected by teammates. Or runners would join the marathon is because of the festive atmosphere and many people involved. Self- esteem needs As the social needs are satisfied, esteem needs of recognition and status must be addressed. Certainly, sport plays a major role in enhancing self- esteem and the impact of sport participation on enhanced self-esteem has been well documented. Self- actualization Finally, the highest order needs, self actualization, should be met. This refers to the individual s need to be all that you can be and is usually fulfilled through participation in spots that pushes an individual to the utmost of his or her physical and mental capacities. For example, ultra marathons in which runners compete in 100K road races certainly test the will of all participants. 20

Attitudes Attitudes are learned from thoughts, feelings and behaviours toward some given object. Attitudes represent one of the most important components of the overall modal of sports participant because they ultimately guide the decision making process. Sociological or external factors Physical surroundings The location, weather and physical aspects of the participation environment comprise the physical surroundings. In sports participation, the physical surroundings play an extremely important role in decision making. Social surroundings The effort of others people on a participant during participation in s sport is another situational influence, called social surrounding. Considerably, such as, marathoners who feel motivated when are participating in Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon with friends, relatives or thousands of other runners. 21

Charter 3 Methodology Introduction In this chapter, the literature review will be used and form a questionnaire. And, it is about my research method and justifies the method. Methodology is a way of thinking about and study social reality (Strauss and Corbin, 1990). According to Hart (1998), methodology is defined as "a system of method and rules to facilitate the collection and analysis of data". An appropriate methodology is an essential and fundamental step in the research which helps to collect accurate data and information for finding analyze. Said by Shank (2005), no matter which type of research is used they are useful in understanding the participations of sports event. 3.1 Research Objective The aim of this study is to find out the motivational factors, influence and perception of experienced or interested runners participate in the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. To ensure the information gathered is accurate and useful, primary researches are used for this study. The primary research is to find out the marathon experience, motivational factors, influence which experienced or interested runners to get from the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. 3.2 Primary Research The primary research is using questionnaire as a tool. Stotlar (1993) claimed that data get from primary research can be valuable sources of information about customers attitudes toward products and service. As experienced or interested runners is the customer of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, so a questionnaire will be conducted to collect their motivational factors, influence and the perception of the event. 22

3.3 Questionnaire According to Baker (2000), quantitative research is necessary to define more precisely the issues identified through qualitative method. Also mentioned by Shank (2005), it allows researchers to collect primary data such as the habit, attitudes, behaviours demographics, lifestyle and others variables of interest. The questionnaire for this study was conducted to both experienced of interested runners of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon because they played an important role for the marathon in reflecting the effectiveness of organization implemented by the organizer. Also the non-participants are not the target of this questionnaire because the researcher wants to focus on finding target-experienced of interested runners and spend more time on data analysis. 3.4 Questionnaire Design Questionnaire is trying to ask the respondent s experience, influence and perception of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. The respondents are using the scale of 1 to 5 point to reflect their agreement: 1 represents strongly disagree and 5 is strongly agree. The questionnaire is divided into four parts. (Refer to appendix) The first part is to identify the respondents experience and habit about Standard Chartered (Hong Kong) Marathon. See whether they had participated in the event, frequency, the time spending on marathon training, where to get the information of the event. The second part included question nine to thirty three. This part is using the motivation factors to find out the reason of participating in this event. There are six types of factors including Physical health factors, Physical health factors, Self-determination 23

factors, Achievement goal factors, Social surroundings factors and finally is a Physical surroundings factor. The third part is to find out the influence and the perception of the event. Demographic information is collected in the last part of the questionnaire. This part is to understand the background of the respondents and questions regarding their gender, age, recently statues and the salary stage. 3.5 Different language of questionnaire More, the questionnaire is designed in Chinese and English language, in order to deliver clear meaning of the questionnaire and make convenient for various respondents with different educational levels. Specially, the Chinese questionnaire can make the lower educational level of respondents easier understanding the purpose and the questionnaire of this study. So, both languages of questionnaires can make the research more meaningful and effectively. 3.6 Pilot Test A pilot test was conducted before the real questionnaire was sent out. There are ten people to respond the pilot test. They come from different age group and career background. There are three of them from the age group of 18-24, two of them age group of 25-34, three of them from the age group of 35-44, one of them from the age group of 45-54 and one from the age group of 55-64. They are students, teacher, social worker, white collar, salesclerk, recreation manager, fitness coach and housewife. They were invited to check understand ability of the questionnaire, the wordings, design, ease of use, clarity of meaning, to ensure the questionnaire is easy to understand. 3.7 Data Collection The period of data collection was two weeks. In order to obtain the dependable data, the questionnaires were conducted by face-to-face method at different venues, such as the 24

sports ground, park, fitness centre and private clubhouse. More, the questionnaire is conducted on the www.my3q.com which is an online survey website. 3.8 Limitation of Primary Research In the survey, there are 131 questionnaires were collected totally. The size of sample may be too small and may not enough to represent the whole community. Moreover, there are 10 questionnaires were not useful because the wrong data entry which will affect the dependable using of the questionnaire. For example, the respondent chose Not yet to represent do not take part in Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon before, but the 10KM was chose be the answer in question 3 which ask Which race did you participate in last time? Therefore, there are 10 undependable questionnaires will not be use in the part of the data analysis. Finally, there are 121 questionnaires will dependable to be used for the data analysis. 25

Chapter 4 Result Introduction In chapter 4, the finding result would list in the following. It would state with the table to show the statistic information, and evaluate the issues of the result. 4. 1 Demographic data 2.48% 6.61% 0.00% 6.61% 25.62% 58.68% 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65 or above Table 4.1 Age distribution among the respondents The research receives 121 respondents via online questionnaires and face-to-face research method. There are 62 males and 59 females in total representing 51.24 % and 48.76% respectively. Figure 4.1 shows the age distribution among the respondents. The age group of 18-24 (58.68%) represents the largest proportion in this research. It shows that the event is most welcome by younger population. On the contrary, there are no respondents from the age group of 65 or above (Refer to table 4.1). It indicates that the marathon is not so popular among elder population. 26

4.2 The experience or interest of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon by gender Male Have experience Have interest 42% 58% Female Have experience Have interest 36% 64% Table 4.2 The experience or interest in Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon by gender This section is trying to explain the respondent s experience or interest in Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon by gender. Out of 57 respondents who have taken part in this event, 36 are males and 21 females which account for 29.75% and 17.36% respectively. It shows that male respondents have a higher percentage of actual participation than females. In aspect of the respondent s interest in this event, there are 26 males and 38 females claiming that they are interested in this event accounting for 21.49% and 31.40% out of 121 respondents. Besides, it is interesting to find out that female shows more interest in Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon than male does (Refer to table 4.2). 27

4.3 The last race of respondents participated in by gender p ( ) y g 25 20 20 16 15 10 5 9 5 7 Male Female 0 10KM Half-marathon Full-marathon 0 Table4.3 The last race of respondents in Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon by gender Regarding the last race which the 57 respondents took part in the last marathon, most of the respondent including 20 males (35.09%) and 16 females (28.07%) joined the 10KM. Further, 9 males and 5 females participated in the half-marathon in the last race, which accounting for 15.79% and 8.77% respectively. Furthermore, the full-marathon proves to be the toughest race of all. There are only 7 males (12.28%) and no female respondents taking part in the full-marathon. To conclude, 10KM is the most popular race both for the males and females since this is the easiest or beginners' race in the Standard Chartered Marathon. (Refer to table 4.3) 28

4.4. The time spend on marathon training peer week by gender 35 30 29 No of respondents 25 20 15 10 5 18 18 13 13 11 9 3 4 3 Male Female 0 Less than 30 mins 30 mins to 2hrs 2 hrs to 4 hrs 4 hrs to 6 hrs 6 hrs or above Time spending on marathon training Table4.4 The time spend on marathon training peer week by gender In aspect of regular training, 18 males and 29 females spend less than 30minutes on marathon training which represent 14.88% and 23.97% respectively. Most of respondents claimed that they were interested in marathon. However they are willing to spend less than 30 minutes per week. They knew their training time was far from enough. To maintain good health, people are recommended to do physical exercise 3 times per week and spending on average 30 minutes or above in each occasion. It is particularly important for marathon runners who require the tremendous willpower to finish the race. In addition, the survey reveals that not many runners are willing to spend time on profession training. Only 4 males (3.30%) and 3 females (2.48%) would spend more than 6 hours, on regular training. (Refer to table 4.4) 29

4.5 The situation of paying for marathon class by gender 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 60 59 2 0 0 0 No Yes, private Yes, provided by SC(HK)M Male Female Table4.5 The situation of paying for marathon class by gender In fact, 98.35% of the respondents do not attend the marathon class. Though the respondents might have self training, the percentage reflects that most people are not willing to spend money on the marathon training class, no matter they take part in the past or not. Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon can consider more about the training, such as the cost, the location, the class content, and the max quote of class. Out of 121 respondents, there are 2 males (1.65%) receiving regular marathon training. One man took part in full-marathon and the other took part in the half-marathon in the past. Besides, two men have participated in the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon for 3 times in the past. One of them has joined the event for 3 consecutive times and the other 2 consecutive times. Moreover, the two men chose the private training rather than the training class of Standard Chartered Hong Marathon. On average, they spend 4 to 6 hours on the marathon training per week. (Refer to table 4.5) 30

4.6 Channels for the event information 7.76% 20.00% Government Organization (19 votes) Media (106 votes) 6.12% 22.86% 43.27% Official website (56 votes) Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association (15 votes) Friends and relatives (49 votes) Table 4.6 Channels for the event information 72% of respondents choose sometimes if they are not very concern about the news or special editor of this event. And there are 7.76% and 6.12% of respondents get the event information from the government organization and Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association. The lower percentage reflects that the government organization and HKAAA need to put effort for the event promotion, perhaps arranging more marathon training classes for the public. (Refer to table 4.6) More, the marathon information should delivery to the media or upload on the interest, so that the runners can get the information easily. They can self- learning conveniently. 31

Motivational factors 4.7 Top six motivation factors of participating the Standard Chartered (Hong Kong) Marathon 520 500 500 499 Points 480 460 440 455 452 436 430 Points 420 400 380 A17 A9 A21 A14 A24 A30 Motivation factors Table 4.7 Top six motivation factors of participating the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon There are 25 motivation factors in the questionnaires allocated in six aspects. The top six motivation factors are generated by the highest scoring by the respondents. The factors are "physical health", "psychical health", "self-determination", "achievement goal", "social surrounding" and "physical surrounding. The respondents are using the scale of 1 to 5 point to reflect their agreement of the factors: 1 represents strongly disagree and 5 is strongly agree. A17: to train my willpower A9: to improve my physical health A21: to fulfil personal goals A14: to feel comfort and relaxation A24: to take part with friends and relatives A30: many people involve and the festive atmosphere 32

The section is subdivided into 6 categories. It is an interesting finding that all these factors rank the highest order in each category. Though these six factors get higher ranking than others in average, the order of ranking by males and females vary individually. To sum up all the points, the survey shows that the most important motivation factor is to train my willpower. The second factor is to improve my physical health whereas the third factor is to fulfil personal goals. The fourth factor goes to feel comfort and relaxation. The fifth factor is to take part with friends and relatives and the last factor is because many people involve and enjoy the festive atmosphere. To make new friends and to share my feeling and thinking with others got the same mark as the seventeenth motivation factors out of twenty-five. (Refer to table 4.7) 33

4.8 The highest ranking of motivation factors by gender Male Female Total A17: to train my willpower Strongly disagree 1 1 2 Disagree 2 1 3 Agree 7 10 17 Quite agree 27 27 54 Strongly agree 25 20 45 Total 62 59 121 A9: to improve my physical health Strongly disagree 1 1 2 Disagree 4 0 4 Agree 9 12 21 Quite agree 33 33 66 Strongly agree 15 13 18 Total 62 59 121 A21: to fulfil personal goals Strongly disagree 1 0 1 Disagree 6 2 8 Agree 9 22 31 Quite agree 34 26 60 Strongly agree 12 9 21 Total 62 59 121 A14: to feel comfort and relaxation Strongly disagree 1 2 3 34

Disagree 4 4 8 Agree 14 21 35 Quite agree 29 18 47 Strongly agree 14 14 28 Total 62 59 121 A24: to take part with friends and relatives Strongly disagree 6 2 8 Disagree 7 3 10 Agree 19 11 30 Quite agree 20 27 47 Strongly agree 10 16 26 Total 62 59 121 A30: many people involved and the festive atmosphere Strongly disagree 7 0 7 Disagree 7 4 11 Agree 15 13 28 Quite agree 30 28 58 Strongly agree 3 14 17 Total 62 59 121 Table4.8 Crosstabulation of Top 6 motivation factors between genders In table 4.8, the highest ranking of males in motivation factors is "to improve his physical health"; the second is "to feel comfort and relaxation" and the third is "to fulfil personal goals". "To train his willpower" ranks the fourth whereas "to take part with friends and relatives" becomes fifth. The sixth factor is "many people involve and the festive atmosphere". 35

For the female respondents, the first motivation factor is also "to improve my physical health" which also ranks the highest in male participants. However, the other rankings show different orders compared with the male. "To take part with friends and relatives" and "many people involve and the festive atmosphere" get the same ranking as the second motivation factors. The fourth is to "fulfil personal goals" and the fifth is "to train my willpower". The sixth factor is "to feel comfort and relaxation". 36

The influence and perception Points The points 500 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 472 448 445 423 415 367 354 335 309 A38 A37 A36 A34 A35 A40 A41 A42 A39 Points The influence and perception Table 4.9 The chart of influences and perception of the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon A38: I expect Hong Kong to arrange more major sports events in the future A37: Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon can stimulate the public to participate in running sports A36: I look forward to participating in Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon in future A39: Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon provides sufficient training courses 4.9 The top3 of influences of the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon This section is trying to explain the respondent s influence and perception of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. The respondents are using the scale of 1 to 5 point to reflect their agreement: 1 represents strongly disagree and 5 is strongly agree. (As the following part, please refer to table4.9) I expect Hong Kong to arrange more major sports events in the future gets the highest marks (472 points). It represents the respondents do welcome the holding of major sports events in Hong Kong in the future. Besides Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, there are many others M Mark Event organized in Hong Kong, such as the 37

Hong Kong Sevens, Hong Kong Beach Festival, and Hong Kong Squash Open. We can learn from the government website that the policy of Home Affairs Bureau is gradually being carried out starting from year 2004, it aims Hong Kong to perform as a platform for international sports events through M Mark Event. Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon can stimulate the public to participate in sports event gets 448 points, ranking as the second high. It represents Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon motivates the public to keep the habit of running after joining this event. I look forward to participating in Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon in future ranked as the third with 445 points which is nearly to the second high points. There is a trend that the number of participation will be increased in the coming year and the record history is always broken compared with the previous year. (Refer to Figure 2.1)Therefore, from the viewpoint of the organizer and management, the supporting resources such as the transportation facilities, water and food, first-aid equipment and medical support should be increased correspondingly to cater the need of the increasing participation. 4. 10 The lowest point of perception of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon provides sufficient training courses gets the lowest points (309 points) out of 9 options. It means people think that training courses are not enough. The Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon has a large room of improvement for providing more training workshops. 290 limited quotes of training workshops are arranged for the runners; however there are over four thousand participants of this event in every year. So that the workshops should increase the number of the classes, expand the maximum quota of each course or upload the teaching video on the websites. 38

Chapter 5 Conclusion and Recommendation In conclusion, the motivational factors of experienced or interested runners participation in Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon are mostly related to the physical health, psychological health, self-determination, achievement goal, social surrounding and physical surrounding. On the contrary, the different perception and psychology differences of gender, the motivational factors for males and females are different. The males are health-oriented to join the Standard Chartered Hong Kong, and they also concern about the psychical health. So they are willing to challenge the fullmarathon, in order to train up their willpower. And the females are social-oriented; they join this event because of friends and relatives. In order to draw attention from the potential participants, a brand new category of 3 km can be arranged and promoted so as to extend the class of the participants such as joining as a form of family or elderly. Moreover, a separate long-distance running carnival can be held for those whose sole purpose is to participate Further, the training of the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon is not enough to meet the expectation of the forty thousand runners. Fortunately, the government and the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association can improve that by doing more promotion and increasing the number of training courses. Regarding the training session, there is lack of community program concerning running or marathon at present, the government can liaise with the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association to provide some self-learning package through the Internet. Targeting the group who join for social motive, HKAAA can make good use of its expertise to promote correct knowledge of long-distance running, as well as urge participants to adopt a responsible and persevere attitude in joining the event and be well-prepared for the race. 39

The content of the training can include the training pattern, the warm-up reminder, and the notice for nutrition to avoid injury. From the finding, 18 males and 29 females spend less than 30minutes on marathon training which represent 14.88% and 23.97% respectively. Most of respondents claimed that they were interested in marathon. However they are willing to spend less than 30 minutes per week. They knew their training time was far from enough. In order to provide support to them, the government can allow the training to use the LCSD sport ground. To sum up, Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon is a popular sports event in Hong Kong. It can stimulate the public to participate in running sports and make them have the expectation to join in the coming future. In order to improve the event, more training classes should be provided to promote correct knowledge of long-distance running. So that, Standard Chartered Hong Kong can arrange for the long-term period. 40

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