Peter Titlebaum

Age, sex, and finish time as determinants of pacing in the marathon.

March, DS, Vanderburgh, PM, Titlebaum, PJ, and Hoops, ML. Age, sex, and finish time as determinants of pacing in the marathon. J Strength Cond Res 25(2): 386-391, 2011-Previous researchers have suggested that faster marathoners tend to run at a more consistent pace compared with slower runners. None has examined the influence of sex and age on pacing. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the simultaneous influences of age, sex, and run time on marathon pacing. Pacing was defined as the mean velocity of the last 9.7 km divided by that of the first 32.5 km (closer to 1.0 indicates better pacing). Subjects were 186 men and 133 women marathoners from the 2005, 2006, and 2007 races of a midwestern U.S. marathon. The course was a 1.6 km (1 mile) loop with pace markers throughout, thus facilitating pacing strategy. Each 1.6-km split time was measured electronically by way of shoe chip. The ambient temperature (never above 5°C) ensured that hyperthermia, a condition known to substantially slow marathon times and affect pacing, was not likely a factor. Multiple regression analysis indicated that age, sex, and run time (p < 0.01 for each) were simultaneously independent determinants of pacing. The lack of any 2- or 3-way interactions (p > 0.05 for each) suggests that the effects of 1 independent variable is not dependent upon the levels of others. We conclude that older, women, and faster are better pacers than younger, men, and slower marathoners, respectively. Coaches can use these findings to overcome such tendencies and increase the odds of more optimal pacing.

Recruitment and Retention of Sports Officials

Sabaini (2001) states that “virtually everyone with an interest in improving the numbers and quality of officials must become involved in recruitment and retention” (12). Once standards are set for recruiting and retaining hardworking, positive, and honest officials, management must find ways to evaluate and reward those officials to uphold the accountability of each individual performance at any sporting event. Managers need to reevaluate who, what, when, and where they are recruiting. They must be able to create clear, measurable, and significant goals for current officials such as making expectations clear, holding mandatory study sessions, demanding national and/or regional clinic attendance, creating standards for physical conditioning, and developing rules preparation and game performance expectations (Sabaini, 2003). These changes can only be accomplished by staying consistent with the idea that a change needs to be made.

Expanding on Success: Volunteer Management at the Midwest Tennis Classic

This case portrays the successful management of sport event volunteers for a professional tennis tournament. The focus is not on what needs to be fixed or managed differently to make this tournament successful; rather, the focus is on creating a plan for growth that incorporates and builds on what has already been done that enables successful recruitment, management, and retention of tournament volunteers. Therefore, the case presents an opportunity for students to consider ways to expand an existing volunteer base to accommodate not one, but two, successful tournaments each year. The main characters in the case are Dan Clark, the volunteer coordinator for the tournaments, and his intern, Rachel. In the case, Dan and Rachel meet with the volunteer committee chairs to begin planning for the necessary expansion of the volunteer management program. The primary challenge facing the volunteer management team is to maintain the quality of the existing volunteer experience, and to transfer existing knowledge and processes used to manage volunteers for the current mens tournament to a second (womens) tournament while maintaining the satisfaction of tournament volunteers. These objectives must all be met within the constraints of just a 40% increase in the volunteer management budget. Students at both the undergraduate and post-graduate levels should be encouraged to think creatively about ways to solve immediate problems concerning the volunteers, and to design processes that incorporate or build upon the existing strengths of the organisation. The case study is quite flexible and can be used in upper level undergraduate and graduate courses in event or human resource management, as well as strategic management. The case enables integrative analysis and discussion, particularly

Student Employee Recruitment and Retention Through Campus Partnerships

Student employees play a critical role in the operation of student recreation centers. One of the challenges faced by many recreational sports departments is the ongoing need to recruit and retain these student employees. Recruitment can be done through word of mouth, current employee referrals, and on-campus advertising. Retention can be accomplished through competitive pay rates, flexible work hours, a challenging and exciting work environment, and opportunities to advance, among other strategies (Chelladurai, 1999). Recruitment and retention are important considerations for any recreational sports department, large or small, because student employees have an enormous impact on both the quantity and quality of programs and services offered by the department. This article proposes a strategy for establishing partnerships with academic departments to aid in the recruitment and retention of student employees. These collaborative partnerships have the ability to benefit students, the recreational sports department, academic departments, and university student retention efforts. This article outlines how to establish and implement these relationships and proposes several possible partnerships between recreational sports and various academic departments. Following a description of this strategy is an example of a partnership that has been successfully established at one Midwestern university.