The Role of Service Design in Enhancing Customer Experience in Running Events: A Theoretical Perspective

While research has begun to examine running event experience, existing approaches remain insufficient to capture its complexity. This theoretical analysis examines the role of service design (SD) tools in analyzing participant experience in running events. Drawing on multilevel service design (MSD), service blueprinting, customer journey mapping (CJM), and process chain network (PCN) analysis, the article demonstrates how SD tools enable the analysis of participant experience through participant journeys and touchpoints, digital service interactions, and multistakeholder service relationships. Specifically, MSD addresses service system structuring, service blueprinting clarifies operational processes, CJM captures experiential dynamics across the event journey, and PCN analysis highlights stakeholder interdependencies. This analysis expands the application of SD within sports events and provides insights for event organizers that can support the orchestration of service touchpoints, and participant-focused design decisions. By doing so, the article contributes a conceptual perspective that frames running events as designed service experiences rather than solely managed activities.