Running in Nature Makes People More Environmentally Friendly in Daily Life
Research by Toyo University and others revealed that participating in sports events in nature, like the Shimanto River Ultra Marathon, increases daily eco-friendly behaviors, especially among those initially less environmentally conscious.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 24, 2026 at 19:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 24, 2026 at 10:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 24, 2026 at 10:49 (17 min after Collected)
[Key Points]
By tracking 122 first-time participants of the Shimanto River Ultra Marathon at three points in time: 1) before participation, 2) 2-3 weeks after participation, and 3) 4-5 weeks after participation, a significant increase in actual environmentally conscious behaviors such as recycling and saving electricity was confirmed.
In particular, the lower the participant's environmental awareness (pro-environmental intention) was prior to participation, the greater the behavioral change after participation. This suggests that sports events utilizing natural resources can prompt changes in participants' values and daily behaviors.
By combining operations and information dissemination that deepen understanding of the natural environment, such as bringing one's own cup and strictly sorting waste, there is a possibility of further enhancing behavioral change through events, with expectations for application in sports tourism policies.
Shimanto River Ultra Marathon (Provided by the Executive Committee)
[Overview]
A research group led by Associate Professor Rei Yamashita of Toyo University, Lecturer Kazunori Maeda of Kochi University of Technology, and Assistant Professor Kosuke Takata of Waseda University (*former affiliation) clarified the impact of participating in sports events held in natural environments on participants' daily 'Pro-environmental behavior'*1. The subjects were 122 runners who participated in the Shimanto River Ultra Marathon for the first time. Because previous studies mostly relied on single-point surveys and did not sufficiently verify behavioral changes resulting from events, this study conducted a longitudinal survey at three timings: 1) before participation, 2) 2-3 weeks after participation, and 3) 4-5 weeks after participation. As a result, pro-environmental behaviors increased significantly after participation (meaning, eco-friendly behaviors sustained even a while after the event). In particular, it was shown that those with lower pro-environmental intentions prior to participating had a greater increase in subsequent behavior.
A distinguishing feature of this research is that it showed nature-based sports events can influence participants' subsequent lifestyle behaviors, going beyond just opportunities for tourism and regional promotion. The paper was published in the internationally highly acclaimed academic journal 'Journal of Sustainable Tourism' (Impact Factor=7.8). This research is a useful outcome not only for the tourism sector but also for considering how sustainable sports events should be structured.
[Research Content and Results]
In recent years, sports events conducted in nature, such as trail running and ultra marathons, have garnered attention from the perspective of tourism and regional promotion. On the other hand, because these events rely on the natural environment to exist, whether they can serve as a trigger to increase participants' environmental awareness and pro-environmental behaviors has become a crucial research topic. However, most previous research was limited to single-point surveys, and whether event participation leads to actual behavioral changes had not been sufficiently verified.
In this study, 'Protection Motivation Theory'*2 was used as the theory to explain the background of such behavioral changes. This is the idea that the extent to which a person perceives a certain problem as a threat, and the extent to which they feel they can deal with it, influences their behavior. Based on that theory, this study examined how 'Biospheric Value'*3, which indicates a value system wanting to cherish nature and the global environment, and 'Environmental self-efficacy'*4, the feeling that one can take action for environmental conservation, relate to pro-environmental intentions and actual behavioral changes.
The survey was conducted using a questionnaire at three points in time: before participation (T1), 1-2 weeks after participation (T2), and 4-5 weeks after participation (T3), targeting runners who participated for the first time in the 100km section of the 30th Shimanto River Ultra Marathon held on October 20, 2024. Survey invitations were distributed to 1,500 people, and the data of 122 first-time participants who ultimately responded at all three time points were subjected to analysis. The average age of the subjects was 46.4 years, with men accounting for 80.3%.
As a result of the analysis, eco-friendly behaviors in daily life had significantly increased from before participation to 2-3 weeks and 4-5 weeks after participation. In other words, an increase in eco-friendly behavior was confirmed even a while after participating in the event. Further analysis confirmed that a value system of wanting to cherish nature and the global environment, and the feeling that there are things one can do for the environment, were factors heightening pro-environmental intentions. Building on that, what was particularly important in this study was that those whose pro-environmental intentions were not very high before participating showed a much larger increase in pro-environmental behaviors after participating. Those who originally had high pro-environmental intentions were already practicing many eco-friendly behaviors in their daily lives before participating, but this event demonstrated that it was effective not only for such people but also for those whose interest in environmental issues had relatively been lower.
By tracking 122 first-time participants of the Shimanto River Ultra Marathon at three points in time: 1) before participation, 2) 2-3 weeks after participation, and 3) 4-5 weeks after participation, a significant increase in actual environmentally conscious behaviors such as recycling and saving electricity was confirmed.
In particular, the lower the participant's environmental awareness (pro-environmental intention) was prior to participation, the greater the behavioral change after participation. This suggests that sports events utilizing natural resources can prompt changes in participants' values and daily behaviors.
By combining operations and information dissemination that deepen understanding of the natural environment, such as bringing one's own cup and strictly sorting waste, there is a possibility of further enhancing behavioral change through events, with expectations for application in sports tourism policies.
Shimanto River Ultra Marathon (Provided by the Executive Committee)
[Overview]
A research group led by Associate Professor Rei Yamashita of Toyo University, Lecturer Kazunori Maeda of Kochi University of Technology, and Assistant Professor Kosuke Takata of Waseda University (*former affiliation) clarified the impact of participating in sports events held in natural environments on participants' daily 'Pro-environmental behavior'*1. The subjects were 122 runners who participated in the Shimanto River Ultra Marathon for the first time. Because previous studies mostly relied on single-point surveys and did not sufficiently verify behavioral changes resulting from events, this study conducted a longitudinal survey at three timings: 1) before participation, 2) 2-3 weeks after participation, and 3) 4-5 weeks after participation. As a result, pro-environmental behaviors increased significantly after participation (meaning, eco-friendly behaviors sustained even a while after the event). In particular, it was shown that those with lower pro-environmental intentions prior to participating had a greater increase in subsequent behavior.
A distinguishing feature of this research is that it showed nature-based sports events can influence participants' subsequent lifestyle behaviors, going beyond just opportunities for tourism and regional promotion. The paper was published in the internationally highly acclaimed academic journal 'Journal of Sustainable Tourism' (Impact Factor=7.8). This research is a useful outcome not only for the tourism sector but also for considering how sustainable sports events should be structured.
[Research Content and Results]
In recent years, sports events conducted in nature, such as trail running and ultra marathons, have garnered attention from the perspective of tourism and regional promotion. On the other hand, because these events rely on the natural environment to exist, whether they can serve as a trigger to increase participants' environmental awareness and pro-environmental behaviors has become a crucial research topic. However, most previous research was limited to single-point surveys, and whether event participation leads to actual behavioral changes had not been sufficiently verified.
In this study, 'Protection Motivation Theory'*2 was used as the theory to explain the background of such behavioral changes. This is the idea that the extent to which a person perceives a certain problem as a threat, and the extent to which they feel they can deal with it, influences their behavior. Based on that theory, this study examined how 'Biospheric Value'*3, which indicates a value system wanting to cherish nature and the global environment, and 'Environmental self-efficacy'*4, the feeling that one can take action for environmental conservation, relate to pro-environmental intentions and actual behavioral changes.
The survey was conducted using a questionnaire at three points in time: before participation (T1), 1-2 weeks after participation (T2), and 4-5 weeks after participation (T3), targeting runners who participated for the first time in the 100km section of the 30th Shimanto River Ultra Marathon held on October 20, 2024. Survey invitations were distributed to 1,500 people, and the data of 122 first-time participants who ultimately responded at all three time points were subjected to analysis. The average age of the subjects was 46.4 years, with men accounting for 80.3%.
As a result of the analysis, eco-friendly behaviors in daily life had significantly increased from before participation to 2-3 weeks and 4-5 weeks after participation. In other words, an increase in eco-friendly behavior was confirmed even a while after participating in the event. Further analysis confirmed that a value system of wanting to cherish nature and the global environment, and the feeling that there are things one can do for the environment, were factors heightening pro-environmental intentions. Building on that, what was particularly important in this study was that those whose pro-environmental intentions were not very high before participating showed a much larger increase in pro-environmental behaviors after participating. Those who originally had high pro-environmental intentions were already practicing many eco-friendly behaviors in their daily lives before participating, but this event demonstrated that it was effective not only for such people but also for those whose interest in environmental issues had relatively been lower.