Psychological correlates of performance, injury and illness in Two Oceans Ultramarathon athletes

Background: It is well accepted that psychological factors play an important role in athletic performance, illness and injury. Yet, few studies have investigated the effects of psychological factors on performance, illness and injury in endurance athletes. While general psychological traits of athletes and the non-athletic population has been described in the past, the specific relationship between psychological factors and their effects on performance in ultra-marathon athletes has not been fully described. Further, unlike their influence in the general population, the influence these psychological factors may have on the onset of injury and illnesses in an athletics population is not as well known. The availability of psychometric instruments that have shown potential when applied specifically to athletic population is promising for application in this area of research. Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the relationship between the psychological factors (personality traits, resilience and general psychological distress scores) and athletic performance and susceptibility to injuries and illnesses prior to the race in a cohort of ultra-marathon runners participating in the 2009 Two Oceans 56 km road ultra-marathon.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

MRC/UCT RU for Exercise and Sport Medicine

Year dc:date.issued

2014

Author dc:creator

• Baba, Sachin Ramanlali

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Derman, Wayne
• Collins, Malcolm

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12703

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/12703