The aim of the study was to evaluate the motivations to participate in a half marathon among two groups of respondents—those living in large cities (with more than 500,000 inhabitants) and 110 living in rural areas—and evaluate the differences between them. The empirical research (n = 342) was conducted during the one of the most important running events in Poland, and recognized the motives for participation in sports events according to the four basic types of orientation: social orientation, sensation-seeking orientation, factual orientation, and result orientation. The division of Freyer and Gross (2002) was the basis for the development of the author’s questionnaire survey of motives for participation in running events. The results indicated that the significant difference between urban and rural residents appeared in the results regarding the group of motives in the scope of sensation-seeking orientation. City residents declared that the most important thing for them was the desire to have fun, which was 15% higher than in rural residents. On the other hand, rural residents reported that the most important thing for them was the need to experience strong emotions related to participation, which was 20% higher than in urban residents. In general, the results might help sport managers and city government analyze consumer behavior and utilize the results in the strategic, sustainable planning, marketing, and implementation of physical culture and leisure in connection with massive sport events organizations.