A photographing system for a long-distance running event and an operation method thereof are provided. A radio frequency identification (RFID) reader is installed in a long-distance running path. The RFID reader can read RFID tags worn by runners to obtain time information of the runners passing a position of the RFID reader in the long-distance running path. A camera installed in the long-distance running path can photograph the runners to obtain photos. A processing device can receive the photos from the camera. The processing device can perform a face recognition operation on the photos to group the photos into at least one photo group. The processing device can establish mapping relationships between the at least one photo group and the runners based on the time information provided by the RFID reader.