Emotions and trait emotional intelligence among ultra-endurance runners

Abstract

Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate relationships between trait emotional intelligence and emotional state changes over the course of an ultra-endurance foot race covering a route of approximately 175 miles (282 km) and held in set stages over six days. Design A repeated measures field design that sought to maintain ecological validity was used. Trait emotional intelligence was defined as a relatively stable concept that should predict adaptive emotional states experienced over the duration of the race and therefore associate with pleasant emotions during a 6-stage endurance event. Method Thirty-four runners completed a self-report measure of trait emotional intelligence before the event started. Participants reported emotional states before and after each of the six races. Results Repeated measures ANOVA results showed significant variations in emotions over time and a main effect for trait emotional intelligence. Runners high in self-report trait emotional intelligence also reported higher pleasant and lower unpleasant emotions than runners low in trait emotional intelligence. Conclusions Findings lend support to the notion that trait emotional intelligence associates with adaptive psychological states, suggesting that it may be a key individual difference that explains why some athletes respond to repeated bouts of hard exercise better than others. Future research should test the effectiveness of interventions designed to enhance trait emotional intelligence and examine the attendant impact on emotional responses to intense exercise during multi-stage events.

Introduction

Research has shown that athletes experience intense emotions before, during and following competing in ultra-endurance events.¹ Completion of an endurance event such as a marathon is associated with overcoming emotional barriers to performance such as intense fatigue coupled with unpleasant emotions.4, 5, 6 Consequently, examination of factors that might aid the development of strategies aimed to manage such emotions could not only aid conceptual clarity, but also help develop strategies intended to assist the performance and/or well-being of the athlete.

There is evidence to suggest that ultra-endurance athletes competing in events lasting several days encounter a number of acute psychological and physiological challenges. These include insufficient energy intake,⁷ hydration,⁸ sleep deprivation,⁹ and the accompanying alterations in emotional states.¹⁰ However, it should be noted that few studies have investigated changes in emotions during multiple-day endurance performance. The present study addresses this gap in the literature by investigating changes in emotions among runners participating in a multiple day running race.

Studies examining emotional responses to the completion of repeated bouts of intense exercise tend to report a significant emotional disturbance.2, 11 The oncoming of an emotional disturbance can be found by examining the response to a single session with findings showing that most athletes report an increase in fatigue and reduction in vigor scores.6, 12 Additionally, evidence shows that athletes report experiencing increases in anger, confusion, depression, and tension concurrently.4, 6, 11 This emotional profile has been described as an “inverse iceberg profile” and is associated with poor performance.¹¹

Recent research proposes that meta-beliefs on emotional states play an important role in the impact of such emotions on performance.¹³ This could be influential when applied to long duration and intense exercise such as marathon running. The nature of the task means that all athletes will experience the sensations of physiological fatigue. However, some athletes will interpret these physiological sensations as an indication of effort made towards attaining personal goals. Among athletes likely to attain performance goals, sensations of fatigue should associate with experiencing pleasant emotions.¹⁴ In such instances, athletes would seek to maintain physiological sensations of fatigue within tolerable levels. It is possible that endurance athletes accept feelings of fatigue as a necessary part of pursuing challenging goals.¹³ However, if an athlete interprets fatigue as being indicative of their inability to cope, and feels that slowing down or stopping is the only strategy available, then slowing down is likely to lead to increased frustration and anger due to a failure to attain performance goals.¹⁴ This process could be exacerbated if the same individual requires the attainment of a certain finish position or time in order to experience a sense of satisfaction.

Recent research shows that athletes who develop realistic expectations of how they are likely to feel, report pleasant emotions during repeated bouts of intense exercise.⁴ Further, in a study that tracked emotional changes of an arctic explorer on a 44-day South Pole expedition, researchers found that fatigue increased and vigor reduced over time, with no discernible patterning for unpleasant mood states.¹⁵ Follow-up interview data indicated that she used an array of coping skills to manage these emotions.¹⁶ For example, she would suppress unpleasant emotions such as feeling depressed until a point later in time when she could deal with them. Further, she held a belief that if she attended to its affective content and associated motivational implications of such emotions, then this would be detrimental to the success of the expedition and her wellbeing.

Recently researchers have proposed that individual differences in how people regulate their emotions might explain emotional responses to different situations.17, 18 However, beliefs in the ability to manage emotions have been studied under different frameworks.¹⁷ One framework that is growing in popularity is trait emotional intelligence.¹⁸ Trait emotional intelligence is concerned with beliefs in one's capability to be aware of emotions, the effects of emotions on thoughts and behavior, and strategies used to regulate emotions. Two meta-analyses provide empirical support for the positive influence of trait emotional intelligence on health.19, 20 Findings in sport psychology lend some support to the utility of assessing trait emotional intelligence for use with athletes. Trait emotional intelligence has been found to: (a) be related to pre-competitive mood associated with optimal performance,²¹ (b) correlate with frequent use of psychological skills and strategies used in competition and training settings,²² and (c) predict objective performance outcomes.²³ Trait emotional intelligence should relate to both emotional states before competition and to how emotions unfold during exercise. It is proposed that individuals reporting high scores of trait emotional intelligence should report higher scores of pleasant emotions and lower unpleasant emotion scores than individuals reporting lower trait emotional intelligence.¹⁸

The aim of this study was to investigate relationships between trait emotional intelligence and changes in emotional states over the course of a six-day endurance event. In accord with previous findings, we hypothesized that there would be significant changes in emotions; vigor would decrease and fatigue increase after each race, and there would be a gradual increase in this trend over the course of the 6-day event. In terms of other emotions, we hypothesized that as trait emotional intelligence is proposed to associate with the ability to control emotions, high trait emotional intelligence should associate with pleasant emotions and this effect would be sustained throughout the duration of the event.