Why keep on walking? Long distance walkers’ motivation matters: the case of the second European Peace Walk

Despite the growth of long distance walking as an outdoor recreational activity, research on long distance walking and walkers is sparse. Little is known about who long distance walkers are and why they choose walking as a long-term outdoor activity. This dissertation study explores the motivations and experiences of long distance walkers as they walked the Second European Peace Walk from Vienna, Austria to Trieste, Italy in August of 2015. As a participant observer, I joined a walking group and walked about 600 kms during a twenty-three day data collection period, collecting ethnographic fieldnotes and photographs, and conducting walking interviews with eleven walkers. Three main motivational themes emerged from a grounded theory analysis of the collected data intrapersonal, interpersonal and environmental. A Model of Long Distance Walkers’ Motivations is proposed to explain the relationships and intersections of these three primary themes, as well as how they are influenced by a supportive atmosphere of the three basic psychological needs of relatedness, autonomy and competence as defined by Self determination theory. These findings may be useful to outdoor recreational planners, managers, researchers and others, needing insights into the motivations and experiences of long distance walkers