Is motivation for marathon a protective factor or a risk factor of injury?

This research investigated whether and how self‐determined motivation predicts perceived susceptibility to injury during competition (marathon). Two correlational studies including 378 (Study 1) and 339 (Study 2) marathon runners were conducted. Participants filled out a questionnaire the day before the race measuring self‐determined motivation, perceived susceptibilities to marathon‐related injury and to keep running through pain, and control variables. Study 1 showed that self‐determined motivation was negatively related to perceived susceptibility to marathon‐related injury. Study 2 replicated this finding and showed that this relationship was partially mediated by perceived susceptibility to keep running through pain during the race. Moreover, results indicated that the predictive role of self‐determination was mostly driven by controlled forms of motivation, and more particularly external regulation. These results suggest that self‐determined motivation for sport is a protective factor of injury.