19th World Congress

On the business day of Congress (12 May) the attending delegates voted for Durban (Comrades Marathon, RSA) as the venue of the 20th World Congress of AIMS.

The outcome of elections for Board positions were as below:

Vice-President: Dave Cundy(Great Wall Marathon, Australian Outback
Marathon)

Board members: Gary Boshoff (Comrades Marathon); Bruno Boukobza (Marathon des Alpes Maritimes); Mark Milde (BMW Berlin Marathon).

New directors elected:

Dave Cundy – New Vice President
Australian Race Director of The Great Wall Marathon, China elected as Vice President

Bruno Boukobza Organiser of the Marathon des Alpes Maritimes-Nice Cannes, France

Mark Milde Race Director of the BMW Berlin Marathon

Gary Boshoff Chief Executive of the famous South African event The Comrades Marathon

Congress was officially opened by Prague Councilor for Sport Helena Chudomelová, and Councilor for Tourism Vaclav Novotny at the Hilton Hotel in Prague. A warm welcome was extended by Congress host Carlo Capalbo.

Paco Borao reported on progress since the 18th World Congress of AIMS held in Athens in October 2010. There were further reports from AIMS Treasurer Al Boka (Financial statement) and on two particular social programmes: the AIMS Marathon-Museum of Running by Horst Milde, (Museum Report) and the AIMS Children’s Series by Martha Morales (Children’s Report). Dmitris Michopoulos addressed the meeting on behalf of the new AIMS Patrons OPAP, and Makis Asimakopoulos reported on the AIMS Marathon Symposiumink, the Marathon Flame (link), and the joint 30th anniversary of AIMS and the Athens Classic
Marathon (link) to be celebrated at a gala dinner in Athens on Friday 9 November 2012.

After the break there were three presentations on sourcing of sponsorship for smaller events from Kire Sinadinovsky of the Skopje Marathon (link), Greg Hooton of the Melbourne Marathon (link) and Vivek Singh of the Mumbai Marathon (link). (Portal)

The afternoon session started with presentations from Roger Robinson who sketched the historical background to women’s middle and long distance running, and Kathrine Switzer who related her personal story as the woman who changed history when she covertly entered the Boston Marathon in 1967. She concluded ‘women runners now outnumber men in America; women now comprise 53% of runners. Women feel empowered by running and love the feeling of community and good health that comes with a running lifestyle.’

An interactive session followed, in which groups discussed what AIMS can do for smaller member events.

At end of the first day the official Congress photographs were taken outside the Rudolfinum before a welcome dinner hosted by the Mayor of Prague.

Official Congress Photo 2 -
High-resolution photo(right-click to save)

At the start of the second day candidates made short election presentations followed by a session on "Disaster recovery", generally entailing postponement or cancellation of an event. Richard Donovan explained the particular hazards of organising the North Pole Marathon including airdropping of a tractor, the possibility of polar bear attacks and the risk of losing frostbitten body parts, but drew some more general conclusions about the organiser’s relationship to runners in the event. A second block of speakers including Alan Brookes of the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon (link), Gunther Ernst of the Sparkasse Three Country Marathon (link) and Guy Morse of the BAA Boston Marathon addressed the subject of community involvement in their events. Before the midday break speakers summarised the discussions of the previous day’s breakout groups on "What AIMS can offer to smaller events".

The Congress re-convened with three presentations on "Innovative Technologies". Bas Van Rens explained the Bibtag system developed by MyLaps and Francis Kay of Marathon-Photos.com showed the increasingly detailed way in which the runner’s participation in an event can be captured photographically. Gerhard Wehr then outlined the system used in the Vienna Marathon to develop a medical database allowing more effective delivery of treatment to runners during the event.

After the break Marcus Herrman offered a comprehensive review of how running events impact upon the local economy and society (link), using the Prague Marathon as a case study. A general question and answer session followed before the day’s proceedings ended. In the evening delegates attended a gala dinner celebrating the 60th anniversary of Emil Zatopek’s three gold medals in the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki.

The business day of Congress attending delegates determined the venue of the 20th World Congress of AIMS – Durban – after four rounds of voting. There was then a follow-up session on Women in Running in which Presentations were given by Renna Jarvalt of Tallinn Marathon (link) (video), Martina Kozakova and Jaroslava Haldova of Prague (link), May El Khalil of the Beirut Marathon (link) and Lisa Jackson of the UK magazine Women’s Running. Michael Schwär described the pioneering role of the Schwarzwald Marathon in Germany (link), which had been the first Marathon to officially welcome (but even before that to unofficially welcome) female entrants.

Various changes were made to the Articles of Association (link) before the elections for positions on the Board of Directors (as detailed above).

AIMS President Paco Borao then concluded the Congress with a short address (link) in which he thanked the Prague organisers and retiring Board members Gordon Rogers and Carlo Capalbo. He further thanked retiring AIMS Vice-President Carlos Moya, who becomes Honorary Vice President.