Managing Major Running Sports Events: The Case of the Athens Authentic Marathon

The most famous Marathon race is the Athens Authentic Marathon, an event linked to Greek history, and organized by the Hellenic Amateur Athletic Federation which is a non-profit organization. The purpose of this study is to explore the management dimensions involved in organizing a major running event as seen from the managers’ point of view. Semi-structured interviews were done with eleven managers of the Athens Marathon organization committee. Results show that there are eight managerial dimensions involved in managing a major running event including business planning, tangibles and hospitality, operations planning, security and risk management medical services, marketing/communication, staffing and volunteering (HR), environment, and sustainability. Results help to create a managerial guide for organizing successful major running events.