Generative Mechanism of Co-Subjectivity in Guided Running among Runners with Visual Impairment

Guided running has developed rapidly in urban China in recent years. Nevertheless, its interactive order and subjectivity formation mechanism remain under-examined by systematic theoretical explanations. This study conceptualizes co-subjectivity as a relational state wherein actors establish a joint subjective identity through shared risk bearing, collective situational judgment, and reciprocal behavioral adjustment. Drawing on participatory observation and in-depth interviews with 28 runners with visual impairment and sighted guide runners, this study constructs a generative co-subjectivity mechanism for guided running, encompassing unfamiliar engagement, multi-sensory coordination, and relational formation. It is found that the stable operation of guided running relies on three mechanisms: 1) Time-sequential interactive rules of feedforward, feedback and correction transform ephemeral coordination into learnable collaborative rules; 2) protective formation and positional collaboration extend couple coordination into a meso-scale mobile governance unit; 3) tri-dimensional trust grounded in objects, bodies and time transforms abstract trust into tangible perceived security through running tether linkage, embodied adaptation and temporal accumulation. This study further identifies hierarchical differences in the information flow of collaborative running, which is featured by visual dominance and auditory-tactile response coordination. Based on this, ensory compensation framework for interpreting guided running transcends to mechanism-based explanation of co-subjectivity formation, which offers referential practical insights for the organizational development of inclusive sports and the optimization of barrier-free leisure services.