Comparative urban research and mass participation running events: methodological reflections

Abstract

This article ruminates on a research project comparing the relationships between two mass participation running events (MPREs) – Newcastle’s Great North and Addis Ababa’s Great Ethiopian Run – and their public health, development and place promotion objectives. It argues that the disjuncture between the intentions of the research framework and the actions necessitated by the reality of the field facilitates a deeper engagement with the two interwoven conceptual spheres within which the research is situated: comparative urbanism and event studies. Moreover, it contends that the persistent neglect of the pragmatic challenges of event research within the literature risks underplaying the multi-dimensional networks that link MPREs, their host cities and an emergent global political economy of running and runners. As such, a critical engagement with the methodological conundrums posed by event-led comparative research is not to admit its failure, but rather to demonstrate the importance of flexibility and openness when working across diverse contexts.