Investigating the “Embodied Spaces of Health” in Marathon Running: The Roles of Embodiment, Wearable Technology, and Affective Atmospheres

Yi Ouyang, Xiaomei Cai, Jie Li and Quan Gao
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Yi Ouyang: School of Geographical Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Xiaomei Cai: School of Tourism Management, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Jie Li: School of Geographical Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Quan Gao: School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 19, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: This paper examines how spaces of health are produced through embodied and affective practices in marathon running in China. While the social-cultural effects of distance running have gained increasing attention among public health scholars and policymakers, there has been little effort paid to the spatiality of running and its contributions to producing healthy spaces for the general public. This paper therefore fills the lacuna through a qualitative study that was conducted with 29 amateur marathon runners in China. Drawing on the Gioia Methodology in coding and analyzing qualitative data, we highlight the interactive effects of body, wearable technology, and affective atmospheres in producing what we call “embodied space of health.” We suggest that the embodied space of health is not simply the bodily experience per se but rather a relational space constituted through the co-production of body, non-human objects, and space/place. It is through these relational spaces that the effects of health and well-being (e.g., self-exploration and therapeutic feelings) emerge in marathon.

Keywords: running; bodily space; affective atmospheres; health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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