The words and phrases being tossed around are dire: Serious childhood illness. Paralysis. Unknown origin. And this combination: spiking in occurrence, with no known cure. Federal health officials are investigating the rare and mysterious condition of AFM. What can sports event planners do to help allay parents' fears?

Officials with China's Shenzhen Half Marathon punished 258 runners who were caught cheating during the Nov. 25 race. Violators included 18 participants with fake bib numbers, three who competed as different registered runners and 237 who cut the course. Who catches cheaters? Armchair sleuths who make it their business.

Participation numbers may be down in high school football, but that doesn't mean the sport is on its deathbed. The number of 6- to 12-year-olds playing flag football jumped by nearly 40 percent over the past three years. That is almost 100,000 more players than are on tackle teams.

Unless you've been living in a missile silo, you've heard the news of a long-running (though just discovered) Marriott data breach that compromised the personal and financial information of up to 500 million guests. The question, however, is what sports planners should do. Here are steps to take.

Stacking stones? Creating totems? Try: spreading graffiti. National parks are reporting an uptick of vandalism - and the odd part is, most visitors don't realize they're doing anything wrong. But planners of outdoor sports events, including trail runs, hiking and kayaking, are in a position to do something about it.

Know where the running boom is burgeoning? In women's events. The girls' getaway weekend is an excellent niche market. A new survey sheds some light on why women run, what they want out of a race - and what they'll spend. Even more importantly, its findings can apply to other sports.