Abstract

Objectives: Goal setting can improve endurance performance and is a widely recommended psychological strategy. However, goal setting represents just the first step in the process of goal attainment and whether or not a goal is met depends on the process of goal striving. Although the need to distinguish goal setting from goal striving has long been recognised, little research has examined how endurance performers maintain goal striving or achieve their goals. Therefore, we sought to directly address this gap by exploring qualitatively long-distance runners’ experiences of goal setting and goal striving in excellent performances.
Methods: We conducted in-depth, event-focused interviews with 21 long-distance runners (female n = 6; male n = 15) ranging from sub-elite to international level three days after excellent performances on average. Our analysis combined template- and thematic trajectory-analysis, with several strategies used to enhance rigour.
Results and Discussion: Goals set pre-performance were classified as process, performance, and outcome goals, with differences interpreted in the specificity and flexibility of these goals. Almost all runners reported persisting with their initial goal at some point, but more than half recalled disengaging from and adjusting their goal. These goal decisions were recalled when runners were behind, equalling, and exceeding their initial goal(s). Various strategies were described by the runners in seeking to achieve their goals.
Conclusions: The findings illustrate the complexity and dynamics of goal setting and goal striving in endurance performance. We suggest potential avenues to expand existing perspectives on goal setting and goal striving in applied practice.