PURPOSE The purpose of this study is to establish a behavioral intention model of marathon runners in marathon tourism and validates the relationships among sport event image, satisfaction, and behavioral intention. METHOD Based on the background of marathon tourism in China, this essay shows that marathon runners from Chengdu international marathon were selected as the main research samples. A total of 460 questionnaires were collected and 30 questionnaires were deleted due to incomplete or incorrect filling, 430 questionnaires of which were used for subsequent analysis. The collected data were analysed through descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation models, and Bootstrap method. RESULT (1) Satisfaction and recommendation intention of marathon runners are directly affected by the event image, but the revisit intention of the event is not affected. (2) Satisfaction is a significant predictor of marathon runner recommend intention and revisit intention. (3) Recommend intention and revisit intention are indirectly affected by the event image which has a limited influence on the behavioral intention of marathon runners through satisfaction. CONCLUSION Event image has a limited influence on the behavioral intention of marathon runners. Satisfaction is an important factor in marathon runner behavioral intentions. The result of this study provides some practical suggestions for the organization and management of marathon events, as well as provides suggestions for future research.