Women runners’ perceptions of runnability in Greater London using go-along interviews and visual methods

Recreational running is a popular leisure activity that benefits physical and mental health. Runnability describes the conduciveness of an environment to support running. Twelve women, who were regularly running in Greater London took part in go-along running interviews. The resulting multi-modal data was analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis. Four distinct themes were generated: (1) Finding flow in enjoyment: women runners’ motivations; (2) In flow with the river: running in an urban environment; (3) Puncturing the flow state: women runners’ concerns about safety (4) Finding flow in sociability: women are never running alone. Flow emerged as the central factor of women’s perception of runnability encompassing questions of motivation, safety, and sociability. London’s green and blue urban environments, and particularly the River Thames were crucial in allowing the women access to a flow state. Their creative responses to the challenges of running as women and the importance of enjoyment and sociability were further insights. Our research draws attention to the interplay between motivation and flow and gives insights into women’s in-situ, embodied running experiences in urban environments. It highlights the centrality of gender to runnability with important implications for improving runnability in urban spaces for women and supporting women runners.