A large body of research demonstrates the positive benefits of numerous types of physical activity. However, the outcomes of running extreme obstacle courses (EOCs) remain unexamined. The aim of the present study was to explore the influence of running EOCs on positive affect, character strengths and well-being. The study utilized a pre-existing sample of 21 participants who filled out an online survey at two time points (pre-and-post race). The findings showed that participating in an EOC was related to increased positive affect (PA) and psychological well-being. Running an EOC with a team was associated with increased post-race teamwork and the number of prior EOCs run was negatively correlated with post-race scores on PA and teamwork. Furthermore, significant relationships were found between post-race pride and psychological well-being and zest. The implications of these findings are discussed.
","abstract_html":"<p>A large body of research demonstrates the positive benefits of numerous types of physical activity. However, the outcomes of running extreme obstacle courses (EOCs) remain unexamined. The aim of the present study was to explore the influence of running EOCs on positive affect, character strengths and well-being. The study utilized a pre-existing sample of 21 participants who filled out an online survey at two time points (pre-and-post race). The findings showed that participating in an EOC was related to increased positive affect (PA) and psychological well-being. Running an EOC with a team was associated with increased post-race teamwork and the number of prior EOCs run was negatively correlated with post-race scores on PA and teamwork. Furthermore, significant relationships were found between post-race pride and psychological well-being and zest. The implications of these findings are discussed.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Opala, Ewa"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (M.A.)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Ann Marie Yali","Sarah O’Neill"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:57:08Z","subjects":["extreme obstacle courses","positive affect","character strengths","well-being.","Applied Behavior Analysis","Developmental Psychology","Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/590","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Ann Marie Yali","Sarah O’Neill"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Opala, Ewa"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-08-16T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (M.A.)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["extreme obstacle courses","positive affect","character strengths","well-being.","Applied Behavior Analysis","Developmental Psychology","Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/590"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["A large body of research demonstrates the positive benefits of numerous types of physical activity. However, the outcomes of running extreme obstacle courses (EOCs) remain unexamined. The aim of the present study was to explore the influence of running EOCs on positive affect, character strengths and well-being. The study utilized a pre-existing sample of 21 participants who filled out an online survey at two time points (pre-and-post race). The findings showed that participating in an EOC was related to increased positive affect (PA) and psychological well-being. Running an EOC with a team was associated with increased post-race teamwork and the number of prior EOCs run was negatively correlated with post-race scores on PA and teamwork. Furthermore, significant relationships were found between post-race pride and psychological well-being and zest. The implications of these findings are discussed.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Influence of Running Extreme Obstacle Courses on Positive Affect, Character Strengths, and Well-Being"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Ann Marie Yali","Sarah O’Neill"],"dc:creator":["Opala, Ewa"],"dc:date.available":["2016-08-16T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["A large body of research demonstrates the positive benefits of numerous types of physical activity. However, the outcomes of running extreme obstacle courses (EOCs) remain unexamined. The aim of the present study was to explore the influence of running EOCs on positive affect, character strengths and well-being. The study utilized a pre-existing sample of 21 participants who filled out an online survey at two time points (pre-and-post race). The findings showed that participating in an EOC was related to increased positive affect (PA) and psychological well-being. Running an EOC with a team was associated with increased post-race teamwork and the number of prior EOCs run was negatively correlated with post-race scores on PA and teamwork. Furthermore, significant relationships were found between post-race pride and psychological well-being and zest. The implications of these findings are discussed.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/590"],"dc:subject":["extreme obstacle courses","positive affect","character strengths","well-being.","Applied Behavior Analysis","Developmental Psychology","Psychology"],"dc:title":["The Influence of Running Extreme Obstacle Courses on Positive Affect, Character Strengths, and Well-Being"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (M.A.)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:57:08Z"}