Marathon Map and its Utilization in City Tourism

Abstract. Marathon running has become an obsession in China, with 22 marathon races in 2011 increasing to 400 in 2017. Based on the Marathon annual report in 2017, marathon races will increase to above 1900 in 2020. More and more Chinese are traveling around the country to participate marathon races, which brings tremendous opportunities for the host cities, specifically for city tourism. A well-designed marathon map can not only help runners to learn detailed information for the races, but also help the tourists to learn natural and historical spots in the city. However, marathon maps and their designs are not examined in respect to cartography.

This study focused on full marathon race maps, collected 200 maps officially published by marathon organizers, inventoried the race information included in the maps, explored how many of these maps showing natural and historical scenic spots along the race, and analyzed common design elements of the maps using Quantitative Content Analysis (QCA), see table1. The goal of this study was to determine if the maps featured only the races or if they provided additional information to encourage tourist activities. A well designed marathon map can help both to the implementation of a race and to the creation of a sense of city.