University marathons as structured health interventions: deconstructing the role of event culture, organization, activities and services in student engagement

Background: As an integral component of the higher education ecosystem, sport serves as a critical vehicle for fulfilling a university's educational mission and cultivating its institutional culture. With the rise of marathons on university campuses, the core challenge of event branding shifts from the economic pursuits of city marathons to the pedagogical imperatives of the university's "Sport for Education mission". However, the formative mechanism of this unique brand value remains empirically under explored. This study addresses this gap by examining a professional-grade university marathon in Southern China. Methods: Utilizing Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), we analyzed data from 764 participants in a World Athletics-certified university marathon in Southern China. A four-dimensional framework-Event Activities, Organization, Culture, and Services-was constructed to evaluate causal impacts on engagement. Results: /df < 5, RMSEA < 0.08). Event Activities (0.55) drive engagement, stabilized by Organization (0.45) and elevated by Culture (0.42). Crucially, Event Services (0.35) facilitate value co-creation, securing participant loyalty. Conclusion: University marathons function as dynamic psychosocial ecosystems. The validated Activity-Organization-Culture-Service chain provides a robust framework for translating educational missions into tangible physical activity adherence and campus social cohesion.