Finding My Way: Walking as Research in Sports History
Date
2024
Authors
Advisors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
ISSN
DOI
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Gothenburg
Type
Article
Peer reviewed
Yes
Abstract
In 2006, I walked the route of the 1908 London Olympic Marathon as part of a research project on the city’s Olympic history. With this physical act of research and recovery, I aimed to make the route itself more well-known as a site in local history. The physical nature of the research was a new departure for me. In this personal, reflexive article, I revisit the project to explore my motivations, methods and the impact that the walk had on my practice as a sports historian.
Description
This article appears in a special issue of PARSE Journal that explores the thinking that occurs when bodies are in motion. Six contributors from the fields of psychology, aesthetics, sports history, performance, craft and literature consider the ways our solitary bodies in motion think differently than our social and sedentary selves. The eclectic, rather than esoteric, reflections gathered here draw attention to the various ways movement can influence, and at times unlock, otherwise fixed patterns of thinking. While often invisible in the workplace, these activities provide crucial lessons for the long-term cultivation of creative thinking. Dance, the field Robinson so passionately advocated for, is perhaps the most acute form of thinking in motion. But instead of an emphasis on motion that informs motion (dancing to understand dance), contributors’ examples include the familiar experience of walking—but also running, cycling, rock climbing and motorcycle riding—that influence decision-making elsewhere in life. The issue is free and available online https://parsejournal.com/journal/
Keywords
Olympics, Sports History, Methodology, Autobiography, Walking, Reflective Practice
Citation
Polley, Martin (2024). Finding My Way: Walking as Research in Sports History, PARSE Journal, 18, Spring 2024. https://parsejournal.com/article/finding-my-way/