Unnamed Blog?

The schedule on the class site said just that there was a blog due and there was no topic. No one seemed to know what the blog was to be about so I just assumed it was about our research project's progress. I hope that was it so I'm going to go with that. Overall I'm surprised that I was able to get the 3 essays together in this piece because when I started this in the very beginning, I was nervous beyond belief that I wasn't going to get everything that I needed to write a developed and effective project. Looking at what I've gotten together now has really been unexpected for me and I feel better about making similar projects in the future.

Chantelle's ill research!

The paper is a bit difficult to read in the font that's typed in but if you copy and paste it to a word document then it's no problem. There's barely anything to say about it that isn't positive about the descriptions and the overall structure of the paper. Descriptions of everyone goes beyond the simplicities that most people use in their research. Strawberry blonde hair of the teacher or pigtails and striped sweaters on the little girls can actually give a mental picture and there are the actual interactions between everyone and conversations. Overall this piece does great on putting the reader in this place and can imagine what it's like from all the actions that are going on and what everyone's saying and looking like. Fantastic stuff!

Drafting and Whatnot

the current reading in the book from 419-423 and 460 was the most interesting reading to date because there are several pieces in there that I can relate to more than anything else. Most notably how it is early impossible to get started with writing and that getting distracted from starting or continuing is almost guaranteed. Everyone has their processes to get started and mine personally is listening to music quietly. Another thing I feel is good about this reading is that the point of a first draft being just the starting point where perfection isn't stressed at all and that idea isn't made enough in my opinion. My first drafts are usually pretty awful but that's idea of it, to shape something close to perfection out of a sloppy mess of writing.

Bowling Interview

I liked the history piece in the opening of the paper which gave very interesting information that probably most readers did not know. The team names are all awesome; I've never heard those names for any game or sport ever. I might use of those for myself next time I have a basketball game. Didn't think it was an option for leagues to move from venues. Never thought of specific reasons for it, just didn't think it was something that happened. Something really strange though was how the men's league is much smaller than the women's league and less competitive excpet the one Laura mentioned. I thought it would be the other way around just from usual observations when I used to go bowling. I thought the introduction to the two boys was funny and typical of little brothers; it reminds me of me when I was that age bowling. Through the rest of the paper that details bowling heritage is surprising to me. I never had an idea that something like bowling is passed down through family generations like other games such as basketball, football, or track is with most others. Overall, the observation is great because of how it offers more insight into bowling that people wouldn't know about otherwise. Makes me want to bowl right now kind of.

Prtfolio......Finally >:(

http://www.judgie136.com/

(if it is a non-clicking link then right click the address and select either "open in a new tab" or "open in a new window" to access it.)

"Lay of The Land"

Timothy Judge

March 8, 2011

Professor Williams

“Walking The Course”

Most businesses try to design their buildings in such a way that it will make the customer more likely to buy the products from them based on the presentation of the store. This is something that appeals to me and tricks me somewhat into buying something when I make visits. I guess I could say that I’m a “sucker” to it and buy something based on the store itself rather than strictly what I do or do not need. Marathon does use this strategy to more effectively coax people who visit to get something from them in their trip instead of leaving empty handed. It may not be very noticeable at first glance but after a little time and paying attention, you notice that everything is placed where it is as part of a strategy.

The building itself stands on the main road of Washington Street in Norwell, Massachusetts. Across the parking lot on the right if you were facing the building, is a gym with an indoor pool that is visible through large windows that personally, always catches my attention when I pull into the lot. When you walk through the doors, the main footwear is at the very end of the building. It takes up the entire back wall for both men and women and has track spikes on a mini wall next to it on the right that are arranged by XC at the top to sprinting and throwing at the bottom with both boys and girls. This is probably the main staple of the entire building and brings the most business by attracting more than just competitive athletes for footwear. The brands of shoes that are sold in unisex are Saucony(personal favorite), Nike, Adidas, Asics, and Mizuno trainers. Somewhat on the same wall are road racing shoes that are from the same brands but are in very limited supply. The track spike mini wall on the right offers mainly Nike, Saucony, Adidas, and Asics for both XC flats and spikes and sprinting to long distances spikes for the rest except for Nike being the only throwing shoe at the bottom. Further right from the main trainer shoe and spikes walls is the space in the building that sells road racing attire for women such as sports bras, shorts, and running hats by the wall and on the floor. In this area are treadmills for the employees to observe how customers walk and run to judge which shoe is best individually for their needs and three changing rooms. At the end of this space is a doorway that leads to offices of the employees and the stock room with all the pairs of shoes are stored. There isn’t as massive a selection of shoes as there would be in places like Footlocker or Champs or Dicks Sporting Goods but they probably have the most of what you actually need and can certainly make sure that you’ll get the shoe that is right for your style and stance.

The rest of the store displays different clothes and some accessories that you can wear for road races, triathlons, hiking, or just simple wear for each season of the year. First to be noticed when you would walk through the door are a few islands that have different types of t-shirts, shorts, long sleeves, pants, and jackets depending on races of the season and their functionality. Specifically, there’s a single island that contains just Livestrong gear from books to clothing and the wristbands with the Nike shoes. To the right, on the far wall are various tops, shorts and under armour material shorts/pants. My favorite item sold in this area at the front of the store is a tall display case of fancy sunglasses on the right that are way too expensive for me to ever buy but they look awesome and are fun to try on. On the left wall and nearby islands are clothes sold on discount which are rarely the size or style that you need or would even want to get.

In the center of the building is the front desk where you pay for the merchandise, a pillar for gloves and hats on one side and then other limb warming wear on the other, hydration items like bags with water bottles in them or just regular water bottles, speed suits and other race wear, swim wear, and other accessories for your shoes or clothes like scented fresheners and watches. On the front desk are these cool stickers for various things like marathon or cross country or track that go on your car and they have protein and granola bars which I haven’t had myself but I assume are pretty tasty. There is even bicycle race gear with the speed suits I think but I’m not completely sure that their specific for bike or just open to several categories of racing with bicycling included.

The most important items or space within the store however is the shoe wall at the far end which was previously mentioned. Probably 90% of the time that I have gone there personally is for new running shoes to train with or to get a new pair of track spikes for competition. All of my friends on the team have gone there strictly for the same reason as well whether on their own trips or coming with me in a car pool type of deal. Any sort of media that is promoted for that particular store or for all of them in the franchise, promotes that wall of shoes and spikes as the main attraction somewhat. It’s kind of like the parquet floor to the original Boston Garden that makes Marathon Sports special from other sports wear franchises.

The other attraction of the store are the people that make up the Marathon personnel. If someone were to go to any other store that is similar to Marathon in the region, the biggest difference they would notice is customer service and overall atmosphere. Every staff member at Marathon is a polite and helpful employee that will go far beyond what another store will be willing to do. People there ask questions and not generic ones but the right ones that will make your visit to the store more pleasant and have you leaving satisfied with what you bought. You’ll walk shoeless for a few steps and they will watch how you strike the ground and what your stance is. Depending on what you walk or run like, they will get specific shoes that are designed to suit the needs of your style. Employees will even watch you jog or run on the treadmill with your shoes to see if they they ride smoothly and correct any problems you had with your stance before wearing them.

The customers are also set apart from most other business with a similar purpose and target market. Every time I go to Dicks Sporting Goods or Footlocker, the people there are usually men in their mid 20’s who are looking for jerseys and high top basketball sneakers, probably for style and no function. I’ve never seen one person ever get a pair of running shoes from those places or even try a pair on. The personality differences between Marathon’s customer base and other places are very noticeable. People at the other places are young people who are mostly into hip hop and rap who speak with lots of heavy slang. The customers at Marathon are usually much older and are looking for shoes to serve a functional purpose; not just for the style of it. The way they interact with staff members are very different in how they ask for shoes and describe what they want. Younger guys at other places will just request a shoe without actually asking for it and aren’t polite about it; although that’s not to say they’re disrespectful too. People at Marathon will politely ask for a type of shoe to help with joint problems and will even engage the staff member in a minor conversation and try to be humorous and pleasant with the staff.

original essay 1

Timothy Judge


Essay #1


The main reason I chose the Marathon Sports as my site is because I am a person who obviously goes there quite a bit and purchases the merchandise that they offer. Along with that, it’s a place I just enjoy visiting very much because it’s a place that promotes one of the things that I believe most in and that’s physical fitness. Thus, a thesis statement for what I could try to explain or develop on my reason for choosing Marathon might be that that I am apart of the culture of people that make that place what it is and that it is a place that shapes who I am. I feel that is my best choice since it ‘s changed who I am indirectly since I’ve been going there for almost 3 years now.
The overall culture of Marathon Sports that I know of is that of an average person of either gender and any age that enjoys running basically. The specifics of how much they run or how dedicated they are and what they look for in the store varies from just moderate enough to be more active than the average person or near professional status where they know exactly what to get and have top of the line gear. More often then not, it’s a combination of either HS athletes in the area looking for track spikes, like myself at the time I started going, and running or racing shoes for cross country. If it isn’t young athletes in school looking for spikes or trainers then it’s the middle aged group of people than can range from mid 30’s all the way into mid 70’s that are either looking for trainers to get certain miles in a week or just a better shoe to walk around in.
It would be fairly reasonable to say that I am apart of this culture because I am like soo many other people that are apart of it there. I have similar upbringings and social status along with the same reason for being at the store and doing the same types of activities as the others. If I wanted to get more in depth, I could say I also share the same values of the people there as employees and customers based on running and fitness as a way to better a person in many ways more than in the physical sense. To improve someone’s personality traits through running or things about themselves such as their optimism and their willingness to succeed in life. All other basic aspects of social life, I feel that I share many of the same similarities as many others do. I’m a white male as many other patrons are along with things like I’m single or I go to school and compete or that we have many similar outlooks on life based on running and track.
The other reason I chose Marathon Sports as my site to research is that there are some things that I don’t know about it even though it’s one of my highest regarded places to visit and purchase sports wear from. Something that’s a possibility is that the store very well might not have been what it is like today when it started out a few years ago; back in 2005 I think is the founding year. Inventory might’ve been smaller or arranged differently throughout the store and the selection of it might have been different. The same amount of people who currently go to the store very well could not have been the same number when it started out. Could’ve been that unknown where half of the customer base was there originally to act as it’s population. Even the same type of people might be something that’s changed over time. Taking into account the type of recreational runners that were the only people that went there rather than serious runners who compete in races and high school to college athletes looking for gear to compete in that area as well.
Since I’m already familiar with this location and very passionate about what it’s based on, it would seem that those aspects would somewhat affect my ability to observe and report on the area. To be as fair and honest though, I believe that won’t be the case because there’s nothing negative for me to report about the store in a way that is obvious to me so I won’t need to have a biased opinion of it. I will try to praise it where praise is needed or deserved but if there are any shortcomings on it’s part then I will report on those as well.