Distance runners in a dys-appearance state – Reconceptualizing the perception of pain and suffering in times of bodily distress

Abstract

This article will focus on the perception of pain and bodily distress among long-distance runners. It builds on Leder’s (1990) phenomenological notion of the Dys-appearing body. As opposed to bodily dis-appearance in which one can perceive his/her body as ‘absent’ or ‘being away’, bodily dys-appearance appears as being ‘ill’ or ‘bad’. The paper suggests three phenomenological dimensions in the way runners experience physical pain: first-person dys-appearance – which highlights the intrinsic personal relations between the distance runner and his/her body in pain; social dys-appearance – the way physical pain is socially negotiated in front of those who are watching him/her perform; and finally, socio-political dys-appearance – the body in pain as a product of a power relationship between distance runners and physiotherapists. The article draws upon data from multi-sited ethnography research that includes a combination of participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and website analysis. The data presented suggest that runners seek to control and manage pain through a dialog of alienation, which enables them to free themselves of the responsibility of being injured and to humanise their body. Moreover, it is suggested that the large audience in front of which the runners perform serves as a stage for gaining social recognition by instrumentalizing their pain in order to strengthen and solidify their running identity. Finally, the article highlights the susceptibility of the running body to the physiotherapist’s intentions, a reality in which they exercise control which tends to minimise runners’ resistance.