“Peers” supporting one another while practicing endurance sports:

A descriptive analysis of reciprocal practices among triathletes

Abstract

　Endurance sports that involve long time suffering and the experience of overcoming it are valuable practices for self-affirmation. Each of the triathlete respondents has a personalized purpose for being involved in triathlon training and competition, and these practices are based on self-other relationships that they call “peers”. As far as the respondents are concerned they dislike common group structures such as a group name or a membership list. Therefore, it is difficult for an outsider to discover the inclusiveness of their relationships.
　This study is concerned about how respondents construct and expand mutual bonds that are meaningful for their practice. Methodologically, I presume that the triathletes’ “peer” interactions are forms of “reciprocity”. The interactions signify how they support one another during training and competitions. The purpose of this study is to describe the bonds of “peer” relationships by tracking the memory and accumulation of triathletes’ reciprocal interactions.
　The research results show that the respondents continually recognize one another’s diversity as revealed by the individualized orientations of their practices. This research indicates that recognizing one another’s diversity is important for continuing endurance sports as a meaningful self-affirmative practice. I conclude that the triathletes’ “peer” relationships are regarded as symbiotic practices of being “autonomous” subjects: people who are different from being isolated and just following others. From such characteristics of “peer”relationships I expect to find a possibility to explain a positive factor for continual participation in today's various sports activities.