Marathon mania led to the expansion of the running business. Many race organizers had to deal with the sustainability of running races. Brand management was viewed as a decisive act for many race organizers. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to illustrate the concept of branding and its application in the sport event industry. Kaohsiung International Marathon was selected as a case study. Kaohsiung International Marathon founders decided that this event should emphasize the value of destination marketing and were strongly associated with city tourism in the aspect of branding. Essential metropolitan symbolic elements, including city landmark and friendly atmosphere, were fully reflected while developing the visual and mind identity system. The application of visual identity system was thoroughly implemented in promotional campaign. The event slogan, the element of mind system, was presented through various oral communication and media relations activities. More importantly, many local organizations act as advocators for this marathon after the event organizer dedicated numerous efforts in communicating with them. Such a devotion indeed led to support the original belief of this city-based marathon. This paper also provided practical as well as academic recommendations for further use.