BSc (Honours) Events and Leisure Management

Sheffield Business School BSc (Honours) Events and Leisure Management Title The Motivational factors of participating in Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon Name Chu Lai Lee Student No 91206563 Month Year April 2011

Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Business School Title The Motivational factors of participating in Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon FULL NAME Chu Lai Lee STUDENT No 91206563 Supervisor: Mr Edic sun In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Events and Leisure Management. Month Year April 2011

Abstract Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon is a successful event in Hong Kong, the number of participants is increasing every year. The target of this study, is to explore and understand the motivational factors of people participating in the marathon. After finding out the reasons that motivate people to participate in Marathon, suggestions are made to attract more people continue to involve in Marathon. A theoretical framework of the study focuses on different theories in connection with motivational factors of participating in sport. A questionnaire was conducted to explore the different perspectives. A total of 108 respondents received indicates a great majority of the preference concerns environmental enjoyment.

Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor, Mr Edic Sun. His experience, recommendation and I guidance throughout the study were particular helpful in assisting me to complete this study. Also, I would like to express my gratitude to my friend, Zoe Wong who helps me to go to Victory Park and Island Eastern Corridor to conduct and distribute the questionnaires in the Hong Kong Marathon Expo and Hong Kong Marathon 2011. Lastly, I especially thank my parents, colleagues and classmates for their patience because I have no time to stay with them. Without their support and help, this paper would not have progressed and completed so smoothly.

Table of Contents Abstract.... Acknowledgement. Table of Contents... List of Illustration.... Summary.. Chapter 1 Introduction.. Chapter 2 Literature Review 2.1 History of Marathon... 2.2 Background of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon.... 2.3 Sport participation trends in Hong Kong........ 2.4 Definitions of Motivation....... 2.5 Motivation in sport....... Chapter 3 Methodology 3.1 Secondary data..... 3.2 Primary data...... 3.3 Quantitative research... 3.4 Qualitative research... 3.5 Pilot test.... 3.6 Sampling method.... 3.7 Sampling size... 3.8 Questionnaire design.... 3.9 Date analysis... 3.10 Limitation of the research...... Chapter 4 Findings and Analysis 4.1 Demographic information of participants..... 4.1.1 Gender.. 4.1.2 Age... 4.1.3 Occupational background....... 4.1.4 Monthly income.. 4.2 The frequency and types of races of participants engaged in Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. 4.3 Analysis of the reasons for participating applying to motivation theory... 4.3.1 Motivational factors in the theory of Maslow s hierarchy of needs. 4.3.2 The motivational factors difference between male and female. Page I II III IV 1-2 3-4 5 5 6 7 8-10 11 11 11 12 12 12 12 13 13 14 15 15 16 16 17 II 17-18 18-23 23-25 25-26

4.3.2.1 The physical and health factors.. 4.3.2.2 The socialization factors compare with male and female.. Chapter 5 Recommendation.. Chapter 6 Conclusion.. Bibliography Appendix 1. Questionnaire.. 2. Marathon. 3. Marathon organisers consider new route to cope with demand. 25-26 26 27-29 III 30-31 32-36 37-38 39 40 List of Illustration 2 4.1a 4.1b 4.2a 4.2b 4.3a 4.3b 4.4a 4.4b 4.5a 4.5b 4.6a 4.6b 4.7 4.8 4.9 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 Maslow s hierarchy of needs Summary of Gender... Figure of Gender...... Summary of Age Distribution... Figure of Age Distribution........ Summary of Occupation Background.... Figure of Occupation Background.... Summary of Monthly Income..... Figure of Monthly Income..... Summary of Types of races... Figure of Types of races... Summary of Frequency in participating in the Hong Kong Marathon.... Figure of Frequency in participating in the Hong Kong Marathon... The motivational factors of participating in Hong Kong Marathon (Ranking from Very Important to Totally Unimportant).... Summary of the mean of respondents participated in first time and more than 5 times in question number 17... Comparison between employment and students in question number 7 & 8 Summary of respondent who participated in Hong Kong Marathon for relax themselves and relieve stress and tension from daily work related to income level in question number 7 & 8. Summary of participating in type of race in next time in question number 29 & 30 The Motivational factors apply to Maslow s hierarchy of needs The physical and health factors between male and female.. The socialization factors between male and female.. Page 10 15 15 16 16 16 16 17 17 18 18 18 18 21 22 22 22 23 25 26 26

Summary IV Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon (Hong Kong Marathon) is one of the marathon events in Hong Kong, started in 1997. At the first year, 1,000 runners participated in Hong Kong Marathon, it is unbelievable that the number of participants was up to 65,000, it has a rapid increase for its participants every year. The purpose of this study is to identify the motivational factors of people participating in Hong Kong Marathon. A theoretical framework will be applied to examine the motivational factors to the sustainable hold of the event every year. This paper will focus on various motivational theories towards people s psychological thinking. To define the motivational factors of people participating in Hong Kong Marathon, this study will be carried out in the form quantitative research to collect data. This is the best method due to the large number of respondents and a wide range of views collected. The survey was conducted out in Hong Kong Marathon Expo and Hong Kong Marathon 2011 by questionnaires. A total of 108 samples were collected. After analyzing the data, it showed that most of people engaged in Hong Kong Marathon were the purpose for enjoying the environment, because the race was designed on a famous landmark attraction and street in Hong Kong. People could enjoy and appreciate the attraction when they were running. Secondly, it is no hesitation that engaging in sport can enhance physical health, and gain physical energy. Thirdly, involvement in sport not only improves health, it also relaxes and reduces the anxiety and stress of people.

Moreover, it showed that people engaged in sport could meet their needs which were verified by the theory of Maslow s hierarchy of needs. Basically, people participated in Hong Kong Marathon had met their lower needs which were physiological and safety needs, however, it was found that when people met the level of physiological and safety needs, the love and belonging were missing. They jumped to the upper needs of selfesteem and self-actualization. People engaged in marathon were not for meeting friends and keeping accompany with them, they also would like to gain recognition 1 and appreciation from performance. However, the motivational factors among male and female are totally different. Women engaging in marathon were to meet their friends, who also participated in the marathon. In order to continually promote and develop the Hong Kong Marathon effectively and efficiently to which concerns new runners and maintain current customers, in consideration of the result of the research, the enjoyable environment, the organizer has a chance to design a new route that could attract more people to join it. Furthermore, in this study it was found that fewer women and older people participated in Hong Kong Marathon than male, in order to attract and encourage more female and elderly to take part, it was recommended that creating a marathon relay team that carries a number of people, is useful so that they could meet their friends and run it short. It was most popular in Jinshan Marathon.

Chapter 1 Introduction Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon was one of the significant sporting events in Hong Kong, started in 1997, and organized by the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association. In the first year, only 1,000 runners were attracted by the event, but nowadays, the number of participants was increased to 65,000, it had a positive growth for its participants every year. The number of participants was the most important to the event because it could reflect the success of the event, thus, it was very important to either the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association or event organizers, understanding of the motivation of participants is the most essential area, it would help to find out the reasons of people engaging in Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon and give recommendations for the development of the event to keep current customers and attract more new participants. (Appendix 2) 2 Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon was the most successful event in Hong Kong, it was not only a large investment in promotion and advertisement, the programmes designed were also attractive. Summary of a variety of specialties and experts found that there was a large number of motivational factors that might push people participate in sport. In the study, the motivational factors were divided into physical and health factors, enjoyment and challenge factors, and social motivation, moreover, the theory of Maslow s hierarchy of needs was also used. Fu (1993) stated that the most important factor contribute to sport participation for enhancing personal health. Frederick (1993)

and Barnett (2006) stated that people involved in sport related to fun, enjoyment, competition and challenge. Mark (1984) understood that socialization factors could affect participation in sport going with friends. Maslow designed a theory of Maslow s hierarchy of needs that people engaged in sport for meeting and fulfilling personal different levels of needs. To understand and define the motivational factors of participants, this study will be 3 carried out by quantitative research to collect data. This method could collect a large number of respondents and receive a wide range of views. The survey was carried out in Hong Kong Marathon Expo and Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon with questionnaires. A total of 108 samples were collected. After analyzing the data, it will find which factor is the most important to runners who participated in Hong Kong Marathon. Finally, recommendation and suggestion will be given in order to develop and promote Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, or organize sport activities like Hong Kong Marathon. Purpose of the study The aim of this study is to investigate the motivational factors of participating in Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon and to use the results to further extend the event or leisure and sport activities and similar programmes planning in the future. The objectives of this study are: To analyze the reasons for the increase in number of participants in Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon To explore the motivational factors of people participating in Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon

To give recommendations and suggestions to Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association for promoting and developing the event. Chapter 2 Literature Review 2.1 History of Marathon 4 Marathon is one of events of the Olympic Games, which was first started in 1896 in Athens Olympic Games. The distance of marathon is 42.195 kilometers, which usually run on a road. The Marathon was come from a legend of Greco-Persian Wars, however, there are two versions of this historic legend. The first version mentioned that a Greek messenger, Philippides, who ran from Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had won in the war. On the other hand, there was debate about the historical accuracy of this legend,a Greek historian found that Philippides ran from Athens to Sparta asking for help, and then ran back. In any case, Marathon was the commemoration of the legendary run by Philippides. 2.2 Background of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon was the only one Marathon in Hong Kong, which was not only a marathon competition, but also recognized as a Brand Hong Kong Event. Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, organized by Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association, started in 1997, and was sponsored by the Standard Chartered Bank. According to the homepage of Hong Kong Marathon, it is not just a marquee sporting event, but also represents a lifestyle choice. Hong Kong Marathon was an annual marathon race held in February or March, which introduced three different races:

Marathon, Half Marathon and 10 km. The routes were usually run as a road race, and covered some of Hong Kong s most famous landmarks, including Airport runway at Hong Kong International Airport, Tsing Ma Bridge, and Golden Bauhinia Square, etc. Due to the scenic route along the route, the event attracted more and more participants every year. In addition, the event was a charity programme, the funds donated would be used to support the Hong Kong Paralympic Committee & Sports Association for the Physically Disabled and Seeing is Believing. In the first Hong Kong Marathon, there were around 1,200 participants. With the large investment in promotion and advertisement, the number of runners grew continuously in the past 14 years and breaks records every year. Because of the success of the event in the past years, Hong Kong had a chance to host the 8 th Asian Marathon Championships in 2002 and the final of The Greatest Race on Earth in 2006, also, it attracted nearly 24 Asian countries sending athletes to engage in the competition, the prize money was added to US$100,000. Nowadays, the total participants reached over 65,000 runners in 2011, the marathon has become a significant international sporting event. To encourage Hong Kong citizens to participate in the event, they created District Councils Challenge Cup to promote healthy living environment in Hong Kong. 2.3 Sport participation trend in Hong Kong To promote healthy life to Hong Kong citizens, and to encourage people to engage in recreational and sports activities, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) established Sport-for-All policy. The annual report of Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) in 2009-10 listed that it had organized around 37,790 recreational and sports activities for community, there was over 2,163,000 participants. According to the Summary report of Participation Patterns of Hong Kong People in Physical Activities in 2009, there were around 79% of participants engaged in at least one or three times in sports and recreational activities per week. The participation level among men (68.4%) was higher than women (62.9%), also it showed that people tended to become inactive in

sport they grow older. The first three popular sports were, by order, jogging (13.8%), swimming (13.2%) and badminton (10.1%), jogging was the most popular sports for over 20 years old people. Also it showed that people participated in sport for getting healthy and keeping fit (35.9%), for interest (12.9%), and for making it a habit in daily life (11.6%). It might seem that the reason of people participated in Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon was for their health and interest too. 2.4 Definitions of Motivation 6 Motivation was a concept of theoretical belief that give reason why people decide to participate in particular behaviors at a particular time. The word of motivation was come from the same word motion, the means were to move and a proposal for action. Motivation also defined as invigorates and energizes behavior. However, someone explain motivations as behaviors, people have short-term and long-term goals that guide and encourage those behaviors believe it is important to achieve the goals. It also said that even a lack of ambition requires careful planning. Behavioral scientists had continually reviewed the definition of motivation. During this process a notion of what is, and what is not, motivated behavior has developed. (Lois 2007, p.11) Richard Romando studied that the motivation was translated from the Latin word movere. It means move from a place to other place. Motivation was defined as an internal drive that activates behavior and gives it direction. The term of motivation theory was concerned with the processes that identify how and why people s behavior were activated and directed. It was the most important areas of study in the field of personal and organizational behavior. There were two definitions of motivation theories, one was content theories, and other was process theories. Even though there were variety of motivation theories, but those were not acceptable.

McDonnell et al. (1999) discussed that to achieve personal or organizational goals, people had to take an action, enthuses, energies. People agreed to particular behaviors to satisfy their specific needs, behavior was very much rooted in motivation. 2.5 Motivation in Sport 7 Long (2004) stated that understanding the behavior of participants was an important task of market research. There were different themes influencing people s participation in sports including: personal factors, environmental factors, and social influences. Also, behavior could be influenced by a number of factors including cultural conditioning and income level. It could understand that the motivational factors of participation in Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. Either researchers or businessmen were interested in study the topic of motivation. Bull (1991) stated that motivation was a kind of mental response that depended on people s thoughts, emotions and deeds. Bakker, Whiting and Brug (1990) mentioned that motivation was an organism responsible for the accomplishment of a particular activity at a particular point in time, usually came from internal and external factors. The motivation of sports could be defined as a drive to fulfill a special need (Woods, 2001). Furthermore, Gill (1986) noted that motivation made us do things and drove us to do special things. In related studies, sports motivation referred to the forces both internal and external to people that lead to pursue a course of action with enthusiasm (Cashmore, 2000).

In physical and health factors, Frederick (1993) found that the motivations for sport and exercise relates to the desire to improve physical appearance and fitness. McDonald (2002) concluded that improving health and fitness was the major motivator for sport participation. Fu (1993) studied there were several factors, people all perceived enhancing health as the most important factor contribute to sport participation. As mention before, the annual report of LCSD listed that people participated in sport for physical health. Moreover, from a research by Dr. Vonda Wright, he stated that female marathon runners improved with age, running marathon could make muscles strong, and increase the efficiency of heart and lung, speed up metabolism, those could make female look like younger. For physical health, this might be the most important factor that 8 people engaging in Hong Kong Marathon. In enjoyment, challenge and relaxation factors, Julia (2004) designed that trying to create interest and desire so another person will want it, accept it, or invest in it. People involved in sport related to fun, enjoyment, skill development, competition, challenge and relaxation (Frederick, 1993). In order to identify full range of motivations, there were four dimension models, such as, competition, exhibition, sociability and playing, proposed by Recours, Souville and Griffet (2004). Competition and exhibition factors were external factors, sociability and playing were internal factors. Zuckerman (1968) suggested that people might have the desire to search for danger, risk and adventure. People became involved deeply and enjoy a challenge in their leisure pursuits (Barnett, 2006). Those also were reasons that people had motivation for adventuring, interesting and their desire. In social motivation, this topic has grown impressively in recently years. Ronald (2006) found that the social factor tends to draw people to particular sports that meet their interests, leisure time, social status, willingness and ability to pay, and that people could be easy to find similar social class partner together. Socialization factors that affected participation in sport going beyond family and friends (Mark, 1984). Moreover, Robert

(2001) stated that the rewards of pursuit constitute the personal factors pushing them toward involvement in sport. In the theory of Maslow s hierarchy of needs, Shank (2005) defined that motivation was an internal factors to direct the behavior towards the fulfillment of their needs. A theory of human motivation was developed by Maslow called Hierarchy of Needs. It introduced five different levels of needs, for instance, physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs and self-actualization needs. Shank suggested there was a relationship between the motivations of sport participation and the Maslow s Hierarchy of needs. He 9 found that different level of activity might be a physiological need for some individuals. People participate in sport might maintain healthy which would be safety needs. Social needs are the sense of belonging and love when joining sport association and sport team. Recognition and status when playing sports might be esteem needs. Finally, people play any sport that pushed their physical and mental capacities might fulfill one s selfactualization need. Figure 2 Maslow s hierarchy of needs

Chapter 3 Methodology 10 In this chapter the methodology of this study will be discussed. 3.1 Secondary Data Secondary research was a cost effective method to collect the information, the information and data analysis of the motivational factor in sport and relative theories might affect people engage in the marathon. Various sources were consulted including journals, academics, articles, news, etc.

3.2 Primary Data According to Kotler, and Armstrong (1997), primary research was collecting data that was used to solve a particular problem or for a specific purpose. To identify the motivational factors of people engaged in Hong Kong Marathon, survey would be used for primary research by questionnaires. 3.3 Quantitative research Jones (2011) stated that the advantage of quantitative research method was the research findings being more objective. In order to understand the motivations of people participating in Hong Kong Marathon, this study used by means of quantitative approach to collect data, since this method could collect the opinions of participants who reflect different point of views which help identify and clarify the motivational factors of marathoners. Hence, quantitative research was the most suitable method for this study in the research. 3.4 Qualitative research 11 As the researcher was a student, in order to avoid misunderstanding the meaning of experts or professors opinions, which might in turn affect the result of the report, qualitative research has not been adopted. 3.5 Pilot test A pilot test was conducted for amending and refining the questionnaire, so as to enable the respondents easily and clarify the item wording and instructions. After the pilot test,

some items were amended some other items were deleted, since they were found to be repetitive and useless. There were 34 questions and the time frame of interview would be not more than 3 minutes. 3.6 Sampling method The research was carried out by survey with questionnaires, it selected respondents who participated in Hong Kong Marathon this and / or past year. The interviews were conducted by two interviewers in Hong Kong Marathon Expo at 11:00 am 7:00 pm on 12 th 13 th February and in Hong Kong Marathon 2011 at 3:00 am 09:00 am on 20 th February, 2011. 3.7 Sampling size Approximately 120 respondents were approached for interview and a total of 108 usable questionnaires were completed. The response rate was 90%. 3.8 Questionnaire Design 12 The questionnaire was set in three parts (please refer to Appendix 1). Part A was the screening question. Researchers could screen who were the target respondents during interview and the frequency of participation was related to the motivations of participation. Also, several kinds of races would be chosen. In part B, the questions were taken directly from literature source. Bennett et al. (2007) stated that it had relevant and useful items to follow. The sections concerned the reasons

of motivational factors of participating in Marathon. The responders had to choose one appropriate answer between one and five point scales, the first point represented totally unimportant, the second point represented not important, the third point represented neutral, the fourth was important, the fifth was very important. Lastly, part C interviewees background information was collected, for instance, gender, age, occupation, and monthly personal income, regarding people engaging in Hong Kong Marathon. 3.9 Date Analysis Data analysis process was conducted by using Excel program in charts and graphs were produced from the statistical results. The advantage of using Excel was easy to use and draw a graphs. 3.10 Limitation of the Research 13 For the primary research, questionnaires were used. There was a problem that some respondents were not willing to take the interview and were impatient during the interview as it would spend their too much of their time, as a result, twenty questionnaires was incomplete, it might affect the result accuracy since the respondents might give incorrect answers. Collecting the data through internet may be useful because people could finish the questionnaire at their free time. Also, it recommended that using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) to analyze the data more efficiently and effectively.

Chapter 4 Findings and Analysis 14 Totally, one hundred and eight questionnaires were completed, sixty-five were collected in Marathon Expo and forth-three were conducted on the Hong Kong Marathon 2011. However, there were twenty invalid questionnaires as the questionnaires were not completed. Those fault questionnaires were bad been used in this report. 4.1 Demographic Information of Participants 4.1.1 Gender

From the results of data, showed in Table 4.1a and 4.1b, 80 respondents were male and 28 were female, 74.07% and 25.93% were responds rate were respectively. Table 4.1a Summary of Gender Figure 4.1b Figure of Gender Number of Participants Percentage (%) Males 80 74.07 Females 28 25.93 Total 108 100 Female, 28 Male, 80 4.1.2 Age 15 Age was divided into six groups as presented in Table 4.2a and 4.2b. The age group of 39-49 was the largest group (38 respondents, 35.16%), the second group was 28-38, and there were 34 interviewees (31.46%). The groups of 17-27 and 50-65 contain in 18 and 13 respondents, 16.65% and 12.02%. The little groups are 6-16 and 66 or above, which are 3 and 2 interviewees with 2.77% and 1.94% respectively. Table 4.2a Summary of Age Distribution Figure 4.2b Figure of Age Distribution Number of Participants Percentage (%) 6-16 17-27 28-38 12.02% 1.94% 35.16% 2.77% 16.65% 31.46%

6-16 3 2.77 17-27 18 16.65 28-38 34 31.46 39-49 38 35.16 50-65 13 12.02 66 or above 2 1.94 Total 108 100 4.1.3 Occupational Background The table 4.3a & 4.3b presents that 75% participants were employed (with 81 respondents) and 19.44% were students (21 respondents). There were totally 5.56% unemployed (3 respondents), housewife (1 respondent) and retired (2 respondents). Table 4.3a Summary of Occupational Background Figure 4.3b Figure of Occupational Background Number of Participants Percentage (%) Student 21 19.44 Unemployed 3 2.78 Employed 81 75.00 Housewife 1 0.93 Retired 2 1.85 Total 108 100 0.93% 1.85% 75.00% Student 19.44% Unemploye 2.78% d Employed Housewife 4.1.4 Monthly Income 16 The monthly incomes of the respondents were tabulated in Table 4.4a & 4.4b. It showed that 28.70% of respondents income was HK$15,001 - $35,000. 31 respondents had over HK$25,001 salaries. Among students, unemployed, housewife and retired their income was below HK$5,000 salaries. Table 4.4a Summary of Monthly Income Number of Percentage Participants (%) HK$5,000 or 25 23.15 Figure 4.4b Figure of Monthly Income 28.70% 30.00% 23.15% 25.00% 19.44% 20.00% 18.52% 15.00% 10.00% 7.41% 5.00% 2.78% 0.00%

below HK$5,001-15,000 21 19.44 HK$15,001-25,000 31 28.70 HK$25,001-35,000 20 18.52 HK$35,001-45,000 8 7.41 HK$45,001 or above 3 2.78 Total 108 100 4.2 The frequency and types of races of participants engaged in Hong Kong Marathon In Table 4.5a and 4.5b presented the types of races and frequency of participants undertook the Hong Kong Marathon. It finds that half of respondents have participated in Marathon and 36 and 18 respondents took part in 10 km and Half-Marathon, which are 33.33% and 16.67% respectively. The frequency of participating in Hong Kong Marathon is shown in Table 4.6a and 4.6b. Both 2 and 3 times categories had 72 respondents. Also one and 5 or more times categories both had 18 respondents. Table 4.5a Summary of Types of races Figure 4.5b Figure of Types of races 17 Number of Participants Percentage (%) 10 km 36 33.33 Half-marathon 18 16.67 Marathon 54 50.00 Total 108 100 150 100 50 0 Marathon, 54 Marathon, 54 Half-marathon, 18 Half-marathon, 10 km, 36 18 10 km, 36

Table 4.6a Summary of Frequency in participating in the Hong Kong Marathon Number of Participants Percentage (%) 1 time 18 16.67 2 times 36 33.33 3 times 36 33.33 4 times 0 0 5 times or more 18 16.67 Total 108 100 40 30 20 10 0 Table 4.6b Figure of frequency in participating the Hong Kong Marathon 1 2 3 4 5 Times 4.3 Analysis of the reasons for participating applying to motivation theory After analyzing the questionnaires, the reasons of people participating in Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon were presented in Table 4.7. It found that the environmental factor was very important from the respondents that they were enjoying the environment, the mean was 4.175. Also, it showed that people participated in Hong Kong Marathon even for the first time or more than 5 times, those mean were very close, see table 4.8, they were also enjoying the environment. As the route of marathon usually was designed and occurred on the road, and across to the Hong Kong s landmark, that runners could enjoy and take an opportunity to run on the road, where people could not walk normally. Also, the event was started in the morning with fresh air, out of traffic exhaust, and had a chance to enjoy the sun rising. Secondly, the personal factors, challenge factors, fun and enjoyment factors compiled 18 another important area. In personal factors that might include health and stress. McDonald (2002) concluded that improving health and fitness was the major motivator for sport participation. Participants also agreed that engaging the marathon can enhance their physical health (4.138 mean), and gain physical energy (3.685 mean), because engaging in either 10 km, half-marathon or marathon people had to keep training and had a balance diet, it could enhance their health.

Thirdly, one best way to manage stress was through exercise (Nicky, 2011). As Hong Kong was a rapid pace of life, both worker and students had a pressure from their work, family and finances, etc., it found that more than 70% of respondents, including employment and students (please see Table 4.9), agreed engaging in the marathon could relax themselves (4.083 mean) and relieve stress and tension from daily work (3.620 mean), physical activity reduced anxiety and relaxes and improve mental well-being. So when they involved in the marathon they would have fun and being entertained (3.361 mean). Furthermore, people participated in Hong Kong Marathon also influenced by the income level, it showed in Table 4.10, the income group between HK$15,001 and $35,000 had bigger stress and wanted to be released from daily work. They participated in Hong Kong Marathon and relaxed themselves. Normally, running 10 km / Half-marathon / Marathon were the most challenging activities, people usually spend more than one hour or five hours to finish the race, it was a big challenge to people that they felt tried and difficult. On the other hand, respondents would like to take the challenge of the task (3.768 mean). 90% of respondents who have participated in 10 km and Half-marathon also would undertake the event in the next time, and it showed that there were 76.9% of those respondents would take the challenge on upper race. (See Table 4.11) However, there were some items that respondents thought not important such as getting the souvenir (1.453 mean), winner prize (1.324 mean), and meeting new friends (1.250 19 mean), thus, these are not main reasons for participating in Hong Kong Marathon. A summary of the result, showed that the external factors were less important for people participating in Hong Kong Marathon. They thought that participation in Marathon was not affected by prize, souvenir or other person, they usually were influenced by internal

factors that they wanted to enjoy the environment, get healthy body and fun, as well as reduce their stress. Table 4.7 The motivation factors of participating in Hong Kong Marathon (Ranking from Very Important to Totally Unimportant) 20 Ranking No. of questions Participation reasons Mean 1 17 To enjoy the environment 4.175 2 4 To enhance my physical health 4.138 3 7 To relax myself 4.083 4 18 To take the challenge of the task 3.768 5 6 To gain physical energy 3.685

6 8 To relieve stress and tension from daily work 3.620 7 16 To allow me to continue my running interest 3.620 8 9 To have fun, being entertained 3.361 9 5 To maintain a positive body image 3.231 10 21 To gain recognition and appreciation from performance 3.157 11 23 To share my skills and experience 3.111 12 19 To learn new knowledge and skills 3.019 13 24 To do something meaningful 3.018 14 15 To show off myself 2.981 15 20 To gain experience and skills, which may be useful to my life 2.925 16 28 To promote charity 2.740 17 22 To enhance my self-esteem 2.583 18 12 To participate with my friends 2.537 19 14 To enjoy Annual Activities 2.509 20 13 To meet people with similar interest 2.472 21 26 To be attracted by admission fees 2.296 22 10 To go places my friends have not been 1.500 23 25 To get the souvenir 1.453 24 27 To get the winner prize 1.324 25 11 To meet new friends 1.250 Table 4.8 Summary of the mean of respondents participated in first time and more than 5 times in question number 17 21 Q 17. To enjoy environment 1 time 2 times 3 times 4 times 4.444 mean 4.250 mean 4.083 mean -- 5 times or more 3.944 mean Table 4.9 Comparison between employment and students in question number 7 & 8

Employment Students Total no. of respondents 81 21 Q7. To relax myself Mean 4.234 4.142 *No. of participants 68 19 *% of participants 83.95% 90.47% Q8. To relieve stress and Mean 4.234 4.095 tension from daily work *No. of participants 60 16 *% of participants 74.07% 76.19% *Respondents choose Agree and Very Agree Figure 4.10 Summary of respondents who participated in Hong Kong Marathon for relax themselves and relieve stress and tension from daily work related to income level in Q.7 & Q.8 Table 4.11 Summary of participating in type of race in next time in question number 29 & 22 30 10 km Halfmarathon Marathon Total no. of respondents 36 18 54 no. of person % of person no. of person % of person no. of person % of person Q.29 Will participating in next time 36 100% 16 88.9% 50 92.6%

Q.30 Which types of race do you prefer to participate in next time? 10 km 2 5.5% -- -- -- -- Halfmarathon 22 61.1% 10 62.5% -- -- Marathon 12 33.4% 6 37.5% 50 100% 4.3.1 Motivational factors in the theory of Maslow s hierarchy of needs According to the analysis of the motivational factors of participating in Hong Kong Marathon, the motivation can be applied to Maslow s hierarchy of needs. Table 4.12 showed using Maslow s hierarchy of needs to analysis the motivational factors. It found that people basically met the fundamental levels of needs: physiological needs, that they were the literal requirements for living, such as food, water, clothing and housing etc., thus, people were able to involve in the Hong Kong Marathon, they did not need to get the winner prize for their living, it was the low mean at 1.324, but maybe someone need the winner prize for survival. When the physiological needs were met, they would like to meet the upper level: safety needs, which is trying to protect the security of body, resources, health, family etc. People engaged in marathon aimed to enhance and gain physical health and energy, which reached the high mean of 4.138 and 3.685, and the ranking of motivation were number 2 and 5, because of having physical health, people allowed to keep running (3.620 mean) to meet the safety needs. After physiological and safety needs were fulfilled, the third level of human needs 23 was social and involves feelings of belongingness. The love and belonging needs involved emotionally based relationships in friendship, intimacy and family. However, it found that people participated in Hong Kong Marathon was not for participating with friends, meeting friends interest and making new friends, the ranking of this motivation was lower at 18, 20 and 25, which was below the average ranking. In this case, it would not

fulfill the Maslow s hierarchy of needs, people involved in marathon were not for love and be loved by others, for even if only one person, they would participate in it. People had a need to be respected and to have self-esteem and self-respect. The fourth need of the theory was esteem, esteem presented the people want to be accepted and valued by others. The esteem need was not the important factor for engaging in Marathon. But people believed that when they participated in marathon, they would feel being accepted by oneself or others. It showed that the motivational factors of people were to show off themselves (2.981 mean), to gain recognition and appreciation from performance by oneself or others (3.157 mean), also share their skills and experience (3.111 mean), to hope to be respected by others, as well as, to build up self-confidence. The top of the need was self-actualization. It described the desire as the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming. The self-actualization was less important in motivational factors. participating in Marathon might be useful to their life (2.925 mean). People think that Table 4.12 The Motivational factors apply to Maslow s hierarchy of needs 24 No. of Needs Question Mean question Physiological needs 27 To get the winner prize 1.324 Safety needs 4 To enhance my physical health 4.138 6 To gain physical energy 3.685 Love and belonging 11 To meet new friends 1.250

Esteem Self-actualization 20 13 To meet people with similar interest 2.472 12 To participate with my friends 2.537 15 To show off myself 2.981 21 To gain recognition and appreciation from performance 3.157 23 To share my skills and experience 3.111 To gain experience and skills, which may be useful to my life 2.925 4.3.2 The motivational factors difference between male and female 4.3.2.1 The physical and health factors It found that males participating in Hong Kong Marathon, agreed that it could enhance their physical health (4.312 mean), maintain a positive body image (3.337 mean) and gain physical energy (3.107 mean). However, female might not be motivated by those factors. Based on this factor, females might consider relying on the technology. In Hong Kong there are strong atmosphere in taking a healthy food or medicines and injection, or having a slim treatment can get a health body and build a positive body image. Accordingly that they felt the physical factor is less important. See Table 4.13. Table 4.13 The physical and health factors between male and female No. of question Question Male s mean Female s 25 mean 4 To enhance my physical health 4.312 3.642 5 To maintain a positive body image 3.337 2.928 6 To gain physical energy 3.337 3.107

4.3.2.2 The socialization factors compare with male and female If found that there was a big difference among male and female participating in sport, shown in Table 4.14. As mentioned before, socialization factors might affect participation in sport going beyond family and friends (Mark, 1984). However, the result applied to the Maslow s hierarchy of needs, stated that the love and belonging item was not important and can t meet the needs that push people in Hong Kong Marathon. But females felt that the socialization factor was more important than physical health factors, they undertook marathon because the participants were friends (4.000 mean) and meeting people with similar interest (4.107 mean). On the other hand, males took part in marathon not for accompanying their friends (1.987 mean) and meeting friend with similar interest (1.662 mean). The social factor relating to females showed that they intended to find their interested and social partners through particular sports. It was interested in female peer relationships and the interactive contribution of social agents, for example, peers and family members. Table 4.14 The socialization factors between male and female No. of Male s Female s Question question mean mean 12 To participate with my friends 1.987 4.000 13 To meet people with similar interest 1.662 4.107 Chapter 5 Recommendations 26 As Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon was not only a marathon race in Hong Kong, nowadays, it became a well-known local mega event attracting sixty thousands of local and foreign participants and made this tiny street exploded and crowded. It was no doubt that the event was successful, not only the organizer putting a lot of efforts and

contributions to design and organize, and build up the landmark event in Hong Kong, it was also supported by local people who contributed their time and energy to involve in the marathon. Through the questionnaires to collect opinions and understand the purpose of participating in the marathon, this chapter would like to highlight the recommendations based on the results. Organize some programmes to attract women and the elderly From the research it was found that there was fewer females and elderly participating in Hong Kong Marathon. In order to attract and encourage women and the elderly engaging in Hong Kong Marathon, it is recommended that the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association should create a Marathon relay team in the Hong Kong Marathon, the team can involve a number of people, and members can choose to run a part of the route. A team member needs only run shorter and handle easily, they can also be accompanied by friend because they need to form a team. The Marathon relay team can win the support and meet the needs of women. It was found that the Marathon relay team is most popular and successful in Jinshan Marathon in Shanghai China, the number of female and elderly participants increased comparing to the first competition. Moreover, it is a good chance to educate and encourage females to do exercise regularly, and not just rely on medicine and treatment. Organize leisure programmes 27 Besides, most of the people engaging in the Hong Kong Marathon aim at relaxing themselves and escaping from their routine busy job. In order to satisfy their needs, the suggestion of providing more recreational programmes like jogging and running functions for the publics is necessary. Also, providing and organizing entertainment performance by

others such as singers, dancer etc in the Marathon. It helps runners release any stress under the relaxing atmosphere in the events. It is convenient for runners and visitors to enjoy the event when they join the activities. Design new routes Even though runners participated in Hong Kong Marathon for the first time, most of them really appreciate the environmental enjoyment when they are running, but it is found that the level of enjoying the environment is decreasing according to on the number of times of participation. In order to attract new participants and maintain current runners, it is advisable to design new routes, for instance, Tuen Mun Road, Tsing Kwai Highway and Toto Harbour, etc. Those new roads should provide enough space to accommodate a large numbers of runners at the same time. (Appendix 3) Create effective promotion campaigns In addition to creating Marathon relay teams, organizing leisure programmes and designing new routes to attract people s participation, promotion campaigns will be developed for the sake of effectively promoting the Hong Kong Marathon. It is suggested that the attractive environment should be emphasized on advertising as runners are more interested in enjoyment and relaxation. Special events in Marathon are also important for runners. Thus, new activities and recreation programmes of each special event may be added or modified. In order to provide the updated information to participants, the scenic route and interesting programmes of the event can be published into the website and created a Marathon group on Facebook. It can enhance people s interest 28 and knowledge about the events. In order to further enhance the awareness of the Marathon, it is recommended that video compact discs should be produced to introduce the features and activities of the Marathon. These VCDs can be distributed by different public sport ground and swimming pool etc.

Charter 6 Conclusion 29 The findings of the present study provide useful information to understand the motivational factors of runners engaging Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. Although there are obviously limitations to attempt to make generalization from the results in which the sampling size is relatively small, it hopes that it can provide

suggestions for Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association in planning and executing marketing strategies that attract customers. In this study, the results indicated that enjoy the environment, enhance physical health, and relax myself are the three most important factors to motivate people for participating in Hong Kong Marathon. And, it found that no matter many times runners participated in Hong Kong Marathon, they were really enjoying the environment. Furthermore, regardless of the variance in salaries, either as employees or students, all living in a pressurized city and working stressfully, they also agreed that engaging in Hong Kong Marathon can reduce their stress and relax themselves. Also, Hong Kong Marathon is a big challenge to most participants, it found that people would like to take the challenge in the next event at an upper level of the race. Moreover, it showed that males and females have different point of views, males agreed that participating in Hong Kong Marathon will enhance their physical health, however, females thought that meeting friends interest and participating with friends are the most important factors that attract females to join the event. In addition, it can verify the main theme of the theory of Maslow s hierarchy of needs. It 30 found that people participating in Hong Kong Marathon, have met the foundation needs which are physiological needs and safety needs. However, subject to social needs, there are differences between males and females, females emphasize more on than men when

social needs. The top and second top levels of needs are esteem needs and selfactualization needs, they also agreed taking Marathon can achieve those needs. Finally, the objectives of this study have been reached. Firstly, it has detected the reasons and the motivational factors of people participating in Hong Kong Marathon. Secondly, it has given some recommendations to the organizers regarding providing and designing entertainment programmes, new routes or leisure activities to runners with the hope of strengthening health and reducing stress, to attract potential and current runners to join the event in future. However, there are several limitations on attempting to understand motivations of runners. Firstly, the study is limited by its size. The sample findings could not be directly generalized to represent the majority of Hong Kong s population. Secondly, it cannot be assumed that the motivations for participants may not change over time within and between engagements. Nevertheless, it can be concluded that the findings of the study have explored reliably the motivational factors of engaging runners in Hong Kong Marathon. This provides for future in depth exploration of the topic. Bibliography American College of Sports Medicine. (2011). First-time Marathon runners: Study 31 compares dropouts and race finishers, Motivation Factors Predicted Completion of Race. [online]. Last accessed 23 March 2011 at: http://www.acsm.org/am/template.cfm?section=media&contentid=5257&templa TE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm

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Appendix 1 Questionnaire 37

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Appendix 2 Marathon 2011 bc Magazine February

Appendix 3 Marathon organisers consider new route to cope with demand From: South China Morning Post Thursday, March 24, 2011 39

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