Doing your survey now, but early question is a little wonky, are you a professional triathlete??? I can safely say that no one over 65 is a professional triathlete, perhaps you meant to ask were you a professional?? I will take that question in the latter form, not the one you wrote out since there is only one answer to that one…
I am interested in the summary of your research. I am not there yet (6 years away) and while my current motivation is high I am barely hanging on my ability to run and most of the time running feels like exercise not exactly ‘fun’ whereas bike and swimming are super fun and motivating to go do. Not that long ago running was fun on 80 percent of runs but some accidents and associated back injuries mean running is barely enjoyable. So I am really interested in the motivation of those 65+ because inherently running becomes less enjoyable than during youth.
So once your dissertation is published if you can come here and post a link it would be interesting
No it make no sense, as I said, there are no 65+ professional triathletes…
And I got 3/4 through your survey and just quit. You have so many redundant and the same exact questions asked, over and over and over. You really need to go through this and do a heavy edit, it just seems nonsensical with all the questions that have the exact same answer…
Did you write this up yourself?? Looks like an AI program gone wild really…
Something doesnt seem right here folks, first time poster that just signed up, and I can tell you that this survey is baloney. I would advise to not do it at this time, seems like it could be some sort of scam…
Please be sure to come back here and post a link to the data and dissertation. Many of us older folks are interested in this subject.
Hi!
My name is Sarah Gordon. I am a doctoral student at Concordia University of Chicago, where I am in the Health and Human Performance Leadership program. I am currently looking for participants for a study with triathletes aged 65 and older.
For my dissertation research study, I am exploring the exercise motivations and perspectives of aging with older triathletes.
If you are 65 or older, I would be grateful if you would participate in a short survey; the link is below. Also, if you know other triathletes in the same age range, please forward this information and survey link to them. The more participants I can get, the better!
SURVEY LINK****
Please be assured that participation is entirely voluntary and anonymous. This study has been approved by my school’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) .
Thank you for considering participating in this project. I hope that you find it to be an interesting and enjoyable experience.
Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions.
Thank you,
Sarah Gordon
Sarah L. Gordon, M.A.
Ph.D. Candidate
Concordia University Chicago
Leadership: Health & Human Performance
slgordon48.sg@gmail.com
crf_gordonsl@cuchicago.edu
Sarah - I have completed your survey. To echo Monty, I did find it very repetitious but I soldiered on through it. 
Hi. A friend had suggested I post in here for participation. Yes, I did just join to post my dissertation study information. I apologize if that offended anyone. Honestly, I had never heard about this forum or website. I was excited to find it, there is so much great information here. I just completed my second 70.3 and I am a 57 year old (female) beginner triathlete (and doctoral student). I can assure you my study is legitimate, but appreciate the cautiousness. The IRB approval number of my study . The feedback of the survey is extremely helpful and I appreciate it all. One reason there is redundancy is that is one way to validate the constructs being measured. Please feel free to post here ways I could improve in the future and again if this was not the best choice in posting to SlowTwitch, I apologize. The response from the triathlon community as a whole has been incredible and I am grateful for it all. For those who have asked for the results once published, I am certainly happy to provide them to you. Could you please email me directly at crf_gordonsl@cuchicago.edu? Thank you all for your support and feedback (even when it is not positive). Sarah
One reason there is redundancy is that is one way to validate the constructs being measured.
That is not how you measure construct validity. It sounds like you are referring to internal consistency (i.e., reliability). As someone who has gone through this journey you are on (MS/PhD) I can tell you that you really need to get a better understanding of how to measure construct validity. My background is in scale development and psychometrics and I can tell you that your scale needs serious work. Are you trying to create a scale? Are you trying to measure specifics items? Are you trying to establish validity (convergent and/or divergent). Have you tested these items (or the scale) through any pilot work? Or is this the pilot before your actual research? I would highly suggest talking with a faculty member with the proper background to advise you on these things.
With that said, if you are already a candidate, that would imply you have passed your oral and written exams to move on to do your dissertation research project, then a committee (I assume) approved this questionnaire which is troubling.
Whatever you choose to do with this advice, I do wish you the best on your journey.
And I got 3/4 through your survey and just quit. You have so many redundant and the same exact questions asked, over and over and over. You really need to go through this and do a heavy edit, it just seems nonsensical with all the questions that have the exact same answer…
I gave up after about half of the survey. Like Monty wrote, “same exact questions, over and over and over …”
Hi all, I have read through all of the comments. I appreciate the honesty, always. I thank everyone for the feedback and for those who did take it. Respectfully, Sarah
She created a new posting on a website about the topic:
What Motivates Older Triathletes? - Sarah Gordon’s Story • Senior Triathletes
Looks like she is as passionate about earning her degree as she is of the sport. Now if the survey can be modified to meet the needs of validity, interest to respondents, and getting enough responses, then there may be some really great content of the results for the readers afterward.
So you read through the comments, appreciated the input, and then decided to delete your initial post and some replies???
Thank you This is a tough crowd LOL but honest. My intention to delete my original post is that I think this was not the right place to post my study. I see that other students posted in “Jobs” looking for participants. I am very new to this forum…probably went about this all wrong…so I’m sorry. Thank you for sharing this article from “Senior Triathletes.” A very kind friend of mine started that website. My survey is going to close on Friday (8/1). I have exceeded my sample size target thanks to the incredible support of the triathlon community. I will take all of the comments in here (e.g., how I used construct validity incorrectly) and discuss them with my dissertation committee so I do not make that mistake again. Have a great day everyone, I learned a lot from this experience in here…
Sarah:
If you’re interested in anecdotal input you may want to listen to The TriDoc Podcast, hosted by Jeffrey Sankoff, MD, Episode #150 released last week. About 30 minutes into the show he interviewed me about a couple of joint replacements. He asked about on-going motivation for triathlon participation. I really don’t have an exit strategy because the alternative of non-activity is worse.
https://www.tridocpodcast.com/
On a side note, Dr. Sankoff had previously interviewed Dan Empfield (aka Slowman, he started this Slowtwitch Forum) for his podcast awhile back.
Thank you for this information. I will definitely listen. This is kind of ironic, I just had a call tonight with a triathlete talking about that exact thing - balancing the love of sport with the changes of an aging body (knee replacements for this individual). Similar sentiments with yours. Thank you for taking the time to share with me. I appreciate learning from others. If you happen to come across other sources of information, I would love to receive them at crf_gordonsl@cuchicago.edu. Thank you!
He asked about on-going motivation for triathlon participation. I really don’t have an exit strategy because the alternative of non-activity is worse.
that’s my situation too… running is hard and painful but I don’t have any plans to stop…
Yes, the questions were repetitive, but I endured and completed the questionnaire. I hope you will share your dissertation with us when it’s done. Good luck!
P.S. Have your read the book On Turning 65: Notes from the Field by John Jerome? He’s one of my favorite writers on sports and the human body. I turned 65 several months ago and haven’t read the book yet. Maybe when I turn 66.
He asked about on-going motivation for triathlon participation. I really don’t have an exit strategy because the alternative of non-activity is worse.
that’s my situation too… running is hard and painful but I don’t have any plans to stop…
Well, there is always cycling, rowing, swimming, etc. You can make up your own triathlon just with those three, maybe swim, bike, and row. Just b/c you stop running does not mean you can not get hard core aerobic exercise.
Hi Mark, Thank you for enduring and the feedback, I am grateful for your participation. I haven’t heard of the book, but I am going to order it. Could you do me a favor and email me at slgordon48.sg@gmail.com. I am keeping a list of individuals who have specifically asked me for results once published. I will look into how to publish it here once available. Just want to make sure I do it correctly! Thank you again! Sarah
Hi Monty, I used two established assessments based on Self-Determination Theory that measure exercise motives and exercise gains. I know they were a bit repetitive. They are often used together though, so I appreciate everyone who endured it. I was hoping the graphics helped a bit! I can assure you, I spent a lot of hours working on everything up to this point. AI is challenging, as many people are now using it. However, my philosophy is that at this level, it is only doing a student a disservice if they are not thinking for themselves. I hope this helps put some ease to all of this. It is clear, in future surveys and research, I need to have more people such as yourself test it out for feedback. I did have a few who took it but the feedback in this forum, while a bit tough at first, has really been incredibly helpful. Please feel free to reach out to me directly at school crf_gordonsl@cuchicago.edu or direct at slgordon48.sg@gmail.com. Have a great day and thank you!