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Extreme endurance performances – who, what and why?
This free course explores what we mean by ‘extreme endurance performance’ and why increasing numbers of people are attracted to these events. What is it about extreme feats of physical activity that motivate people to participate in them, and where is the limit to what the human body is capable of achieving? This course examines the subject from psychological, physiological and sociological perspectives to gain an understanding into the events and the people who compete in them.
This OpenLearn course is an example of level 1 study in Sport and fitness. You might be interested in the related Open University course E114 Active bodies: introducing the study of sport and exercise.
Course learning outcomes
After studying this course, you should be able to:
- understand the motivation behind participation in extreme endurance sports
- identify the physical limits of the human body in endurance exercise
- appreciate social factors that may impact on participation in extreme endurance sports
- apply psychological, physiological and sociological perspectives to a topic.
First Published: 02/04/2026
Updated: 02/04/2026
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