Enacting Phenomenological Gestalts in Ultra-Trail Running: An Inductive Analysis of Trail Runners’ Courses of Experience

Using an enactive approach to trail runners’ activity, this study sought to identify and characterize runners’ phenomenological gestalts, which are forms of experience that synthesize the heterogeneous sensorimotor, cognitive and emotional information that emerges in race situations. By an in-depth examination of their meaningful experiences, we were able to highlight the different typologies of interactions between bodily processes (e.g., sensations and pains), behaviors (e.g., actions and strategies), and environment (e.g., meteorological conditions and route profile). Ten non-professional runners who ran an ultra-trail running race (330 km, 24,000 m of elevation gain) volunteered to participate in the study. Data were collected in two steps: (1) collection of past activity traces (i.e., race maps, field notes, and self-assessment scales) and (2) enactive interviews using the past activity traces in which the runners were invited to relive their experience and describe their activity. The enactive interviews were coded using the course-of-experience methodology to identify the phenomenological gestalts that emerged from activity and scaffolded the runners’ courses of experience. The results revealed that runners typically enact three phenomenological gestalts: controlling global ease, enduring general fatigue and experiencing difficult situations, and feeling freedom in the running pace. These phenomenological gestalts were made up of specific behaviors, involvements, and meaningful situated elements that portrayed various ways of achieving an ultra-endurance performance in the race situation. They also highlighted how runners enact a meaningful world by acting in relation to the fluctuations in physical sensations and environmental conditions during an ultra-trail race. Practical applications for preparation, race management and sports psychology interventions are proposed to enrich the existing recommendations. In conclusion, this approach provides new research perspectives by offering a more holistic grasp of activity in trail running through an in-depth analysis of athletes’ experience. In doing so, we may expect that runners can connect these typical gestalts to their own personal experiences and stories as trail runners in order to sustain a viable approach to their sport

Uses of 360° video in referees' reflectivity training: Possibilities and limitations

IntroductionA pedagogical innovation backed by an online device using 360° video had been devised to train young team sports referees (handball, soccer, rugby) to be more reflective. The objective of this exploratory research was to investigate the ways young student referees use 360° videos in allo-confrontation when carrying out some exercises involving open questions about their viewing experience.MethodsStudent referees' answers were recorded. A grounded analysis of these answers enabled us not only to identify their main focuses when viewing the 360° videos but also to distinguish different cognitive stances.ResultsThe grounded analysis revealed (1) idiographic differences between student referees in the video sequencing, although the participants seemed to share the same reference points, (2) two kinds of focus, one on the unfolding of the game and another one on the referee peer's activity, and (3) different perspectives according to which student referees use video and to initiate a reflection on a differentiation of several types of immersion: empathetic, simulation, exploratory.DiscussionThis study highlighted the conditions under which referees' reflectivity was fostered by the use of 360° video during allo-confrontation. Some perspectives for the evolution of 360° video supports for designing training courses for referees are proposed

Enacting Phenomenological Gestalts in Ultra-Trail Running: An Inductive Analysis of Trail Runners’ Courses of Experience

International audienc

Analyse énactive de l'activité en trail et ultra-trail : une approche multi-sourcing

Rooted in the enaction paradigm (Varela et al., 1993), the aim of this thesis was to analyse the activity in trail and ultra-trail running. A multi-sourcing observatory was constructed to conduct our analyses. It was composed of forum discussions posted on the community website of the Raidlight brand, races narratives posted on blogs, enactive interviews and third-person data characterising the vertical oscillations of both the runners and their carrying systems. The results of the discussion forums showed that trail runners share common concerns regarding health and training issues. The results of the blog narratives and enactive interviews analyses characterised trail runners’ activity in race situation, by reporting (a) phenomenological gestalts, which temporal layout identified activity profiles, (b) vitality states, which repartition and temporal organisation differed in finishers and withdrawers and (c) seven key-stages involved in withdrawals. The results of analyses of the use of equipment showed that the sensations of bouncing reported by runners were confirmed by the behavioural data. Taken together, these results suggested that trail runners’ activity can be characterised by different data sources, reporting the various meaningful experiences that trail runners enact in situation. They provide practical and transformative implications for the proposition of an intervention model in sport psychology as well as a proposition of a multi-sourcing conception model for companies, which seek to integrate users in their conception processes.L’objectif de cette thèse était d’analyser l’activité en trail et ultra-trail en s’inscrivant dans le paradigme de l’énaction (Varela et al., 1993). Un observatoire multi-sourcing composé de discussions de forum, de récits de courses postés sur les blogs, d’entretiens énactifs et de données en troisième personne caractérisant les accélérations verticales du traileur et de son système de portage a été construit pour mener nos analyses. Les résultats des analyses des discussions de forums ont montré que les traileurs partagent des préoccupations relatives à l’entraînement et la santé. Les résultats des analyses des récits de blogs et des entretiens énactifs ont caractérisé l’activité des traileurs en situation de course, en reportant (a) des gestalts phénoménologiques dont l’agencement temporel a identifié des profils d’activité, (b) des états de vitalité dont la répartition et l’organisation temporelle différaient chez les finisheurs et les abandonneurs et (c) sept étapes-clés impliquées dans les abandons. Les résultats des analyses de l’usage du matériel ont montré que les sensations de ballotement du système de portage reportées par les traileurs étaient confirmées par les données comportementales. Pris dans leur ensemble, ces résultats suggèrent que l’activité des traileurs peut être caractérisée avec différentes sources de données, rendant compte des expériences signifiantes multiples énactés en situation. Ils fournissent des implications pratiques pour le champ de la psychologie du sport et transformatives pour les entreprises souhaitant intégrer les utilisateurs dans leur processus de conception

Enactive analysis of activity in trail and ultra-trail running : a multi-sourcing approach

L’objectif de cette thèse était d’analyser l’activité en trail et ultra-trail en s’inscrivant dans le paradigme de l’énaction (Varela et al., 1993). Un observatoire multi-sourcing composé de discussions de forum, de récits de courses postés sur les blogs, d’entretiens énactifs et de données en troisième personne caractérisant les accélérations verticales du traileur et de son système de portage a été construit pour mener nos analyses. Les résultats des analyses des discussions de forums ont montré que les traileurs partagent des préoccupations relatives à l’entraînement et la santé. Les résultats des analyses des récits de blogs et des entretiens énactifs ont caractérisé l’activité des traileurs en situation de course, en reportant (a) des gestalts phénoménologiques dont l’agencement temporel a identifié des profils d’activité, (b) des états de vitalité dont la répartition et l’organisation temporelle différaient chez les finisheurs et les abandonneurs et (c) sept étapes-clés impliquées dans les abandons. Les résultats des analyses de l’usage du matériel ont montré que les sensations de ballotement du système de portage reportées par les traileurs étaient confirmées par les données comportementales. Pris dans leur ensemble, ces résultats suggèrent que l’activité des traileurs peut être caractérisée avec différentes sources de données, rendant compte des expériences signifiantes multiples énactés en situation. Ils fournissent des implications pratiques pour le champ de la psychologie du sport et transformatives pour les entreprises souhaitant intégrer les utilisateurs dans leur processus de conception.Rooted in the enaction paradigm (Varela et al., 1993), the aim of this thesis was to analyse the activity in trail and ultra-trail running. A multi-sourcing observatory was constructed to conduct our analyses. It was composed of forum discussions posted on the community website of the Raidlight brand, races narratives posted on blogs, enactive interviews and third-person data characterising the vertical oscillations of both the runners and their carrying systems. The results of the discussion forums showed that trail runners share common concerns regarding health and training issues. The results of the blog narratives and enactive interviews analyses characterised trail runners’ activity in race situation, by reporting (a) phenomenological gestalts, which temporal layout identified activity profiles, (b) vitality states, which repartition and temporal organisation differed in finishers and withdrawers and (c) seven key-stages involved in withdrawals. The results of analyses of the use of equipment showed that the sensations of bouncing reported by runners were confirmed by the behavioural data. Taken together, these results suggested that trail runners’ activity can be characterised by different data sources, reporting the various meaningful experiences that trail runners enact in situation. They provide practical and transformative implications for the proposition of an intervention model in sport psychology as well as a proposition of a multi-sourcing conception model for companies, which seek to integrate users in their conception processes

Enactments and the design of trail running equipment: An example of carrying systems

International audienc

How tool appropriation is shaped by the environment: A study about instrumented activity in trail running

International audienc