Narratives of Elite Runners: descriptions of their bodily experiences during pregnancy
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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine how two elite female marathon runners used narrative to describe their lived bodily experiences during pregnancy. Information for the analysis of this phenomenon was derived from two elite runners’ personal narratives obtained from their internet dairies (blogs). This study employed phenomenology as a form of inquiry and used a paradigmatic analysis of narratives (Polkinghorne, 1995) to capture the essence of the runners’ experiences with pregnancy. This study found that the elite runners wrote about their pregnancies as something both public and medical. They wrote about their unborn children as distinct entities and continued to write about their elite running bodies, despite pregnancy. This study concluded that the runners had identity struggles as they shifted from being elite runners to mothers, all while attempting to balance the social expectations of sport and motherhood.