The Association of International Marathons and Distance Races, also known as AIMS, is an association of the organisers of long-distance road running races. It was founded in 1982 at a meeting in London of marathon race directors. Its membership was extended in 1986 to include all road races. In June 2016, over 400 race organisations were members.[1]
AIMS works together with World Athletics to ensure that its road races are measured accurately. All AIMS races must be measured by an accredited AIMS/IAAF course measurer. In addition, in order for a road race world record to be ratified by IAAF, it must satisfy certain conditions. Among these are that:[2]
a course must not be, from start to finish, downhill by more than 1 metre in height per kilometre of length
the separation between start and finish must not be more than 50% of the length of the course
The second condition is intended to ensure that a course is not designed in such a way that a tail wind may improve times unduly, but does not apply for the purpose of establishing Olympic and World Championship qualifying times.[2]
The magazine “Distance Running” is published four times a year and distributed free to runners at events organised by AIMS members.
Since 2013 the organisation has hosted a gala dinner each year at which the Best Marathon Runner award is given to honour the year’s most outstanding distance athletes. There is also a Green Award and a Social Award.
