Hindawi Publishing Corporation Psychiatry Journal Volume 2013, Article ID 471657, 7 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/471657 Clinical Study Future Intent to Run and Running Performance of Students Exposed to a Traditional versus an Autonomy Supportive Motivational Running Program Andrea Silva, James C. Hannon, Barry Shultz, and Leslie Podlog Department of Exercise & Sport Science, University of UT, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA Correspondence should be addressed to James C. Hannon; james.hannon@hsc.utah.edu Received 19 January 2013; Revised 26 February 2013; Accepted 3 March 2013 Academic Editor: C. Robert Cloninger Copyright © 2013 Andrea Silva et al. his is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background. he study’s primary purpose was to investigate whether an autonomy supportive motivational climate in a running program would increase future running intent among high school students. A secondary purpose was to examine whether the program would increase individual performance in the Cooper 12-minute run. Methods. Students participated in a 4-month running intervention program which included four timed runs, one per month, and a future intent questionnaire prior to the start of the timed runs and following the last run. Results. Factorial repeated measures ANOVA revealed signiicance regarding future intent ( = .026) at both schools. Factorial repeated measures ANOVA indicated diferences between the runs at both schools ( < .001). Paired samples -tests were conducted to look at signiicance with paired runs. Results revealed signiicance in two of the six pairs at the treatment school, notably between the irst and last timed runs ( = .004). Only one pair was found to be signiicant ( < .001) with the control school. Conclusion. At both schools, the overall number of laps increased as well as future intent to run scores. he results do not support evidence of a greater efect from the autonomy supportive environment over a traditional environment. 1. Introduction Since the 1970s the prevalence of obesity among adolescents in the US has doubled and it has more than tripled among children aged 6–11 [1]. In fact, one out of every six individuals aged 2–19 are obese in the US [2]. Obesity in childhood and adolescence increases risks of developing cardiovascular disease, orthopedic issues, and psychosocial problems [3]. In an efort to reduce the prevalence of obesity and associated health problems among youth, many schools have begun implementing running programs [4]. Running has been recommended by governmental agen- cies, including the National Institutes of Health and the Cen- ters for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as profes- sional organizations such as the American Alliance for Health Physical Education Recreation and Dance as an integral element in physical education (PE) curricula across all levels of schooling [5]. Running has many health enhancing beneits including the prevention and management of diabetes and heart attacks, lowering blood pressure, and enhancing weight loss. Running also improves bone health and coordination, while boosting the immune system and improving mood [6– 8]. Several studies focusing on the outcomes of compulsory running programs at elementary and middle schools have been published [9–14]. However, there has been little research conducted on high-school-aged students and running programs [15]. his is unfortunate because many health-related behaviors cultivated in late adolescence track into adulthood [16]. he research conducted at elementary and middle school levels has concluded that intrinsic motivation (i.e., fun and pleasure derived from the activity itself) and enjoyment is a key to program success [14]. Running is traditionally teacher- led and usually perceived as negative or not enjoyable by students [10, 17]. Hopple and Graham [9] found that students created a myriad of excuses to “dodge the mile” because they disliked running so much. Xiang et al. [4] found that students