Sprinter's persevering holding place sporadically (11)
I believe the answer is:
intersperse
'place sporadically' is the definition.
(to intersperse is to place at sporadic intervals)
'sprinter's persevering holding' is the wordplay.
'holding' indicates a hidden word.
'INTERSPERSE' is hidden within 'sprinters persevering'.
(Other definitions for intersperse that I've seen before include "Spread throughout" , "Dot" , "Scatter - enterprises (anag)" , "Scatter between other things" .)