Injuries and pain in a group of runners from the city of La Plata

Abstract

This article aims to comprehend the various meanings attributed to injuries and pain during the running practice by a set of runners framed within a training group from the city of La Plata called Masa Resistente.
The research problem is empirically approached through an ethnographic analysis based on participant observation and in-depth interviews, which dialogues critically with the specialized bibliography on the subject.
Thus, from the reconstruction of a set of ethnographic situations, different aspects of the running activity and the way in which different actors give different senses to their bodies are analyzed, when they  emphasize the significance that they attribute to the pain and injuries they constantly live with, in terms of "authenticity" and "endurance". This research seeks to explain how in the running practice an idea of "healthy practice", where physical well-being is associated with the emotional well-being, is configured, a well-being which does not exclude pain neither fear nor injuries, but these native concepts are rather connected to  joy and pleasure.