New Members
Stockholm Half Marathon (SWE)
Ulf Saletti
Stockholm Marathon organisation, Box 100 23, 100 55 Stockholm, SWEDEN
Tel: +46-8-545 664 40
Email: ulf.saletti@marathon.se
Website:
www.stockholmhalfmarathon.se
NEXT RACE DATE: 6 SEPTEMBER 2008
The Stockholm Half Marathon (SWE), held for the last 25 years, attracts a field of 4600 men and 600 women, including 550 foreign runners from 12 countries, and will next be held on 6 September 2008. Alfred Shemweta and Lena Gavelin hold the course records at 1:04:29 and 1:13:09 respectively.
Rijeka Half Marathon (CRO)
Radovan Soljaga
Slavka Krautzeka 45, 51000 Rijeka, CROATIA
Tel: +385 91 217 7122; Fax: +385 51 217 022
Email:
med-skola-rijeka@ri.t-com.hr
Website:
www.homositec.hr,
www.rss.hr
NEXT RACE DATE: ?? OCTOBER 2008
The Rijeka Half Marathon (CRO) has been held at the beginning of October for the last five years, with 180 runners including 50 foreign participants from five countries. Course records are held by Roman Kezjar (SLO) at 1:05:24 and Lucija Kimani (BIH) at 1:15:32.
Pardubice Wine Half Marathon (CZE)
Oldrich Bujnoch
Topolska 739, 53701 Chrudim, CZECH REPUBLIC
Tel:+420 466 052 100; Fax: +420 466 052 130
Email:
marketing@zlatastika.cz;
jr.running@wo.cz
Website:
www.zlatastika.cz
NEXT RACE DATE: 19 APRIL 2008
The Pardubice Wine Half Marathon has been held for the last seven years, attracting 450 men and 100 women, with 50 runners coming from eight foreign countries. Course records stand at 1:03:19 and 1:13:03.
Half Marathon Atlas Colomos (MEX)
Javier Peña de la Mora
Paseo Atlas Colomos 200 Fracc.: Lomas del Bosque, Zapopan, JAL – C.P.
45110., MEXICO
Tel: +52.333 649 0120
Email:
jpenadelam@yahoo.com
Website:
www.atlas.com.mx
NEXT RACE DATE: 7 SEPTEMBER 2008
The Half Marathon Atlas Colomos, held for the last 18 years, attracts 3,500 runners, including 40 from seven foreign countries.
Terwamarathon (FIN)
Asko Vääräniemi
Keluveneenväylä 22, 90650 OULU, Finland
Tel: +358405068803
Email:
asko.vaaraniemi@elisanet.fi
Website:
www.oulumaraton.net
NEXT RACE DATE: 24 MAY 2008
Terwamarathon, attracting 360 runners from nine countries, has been held in the Finnish town of Oulu for the last 19 years. Course records are held by: Jorma Kuronen FIN 2:27:59; Maire Kukkonen FIN 2:50:28.
New Associate Members
UNICEF Charity Half Marathon & 10K (HKG)
Anna Choy / Keith Noyes
3/F 60Blue Pool Road, Happy Valley, HONG KONG
Tel: +852 2833 6139 / 2812 0741
Fax: +852 2834 0996 / 2792 7064
Email:
achoy@unicef.org.hk,
keith@seyonasia.com
Website:
www.unicef.org.hk/runforchildren
NEXT RACE DATE: 7 DECEMBER 2008
The Unicef Charity Half Marathon and 10km (HKG) has been held for the last two years in early December with 1600 men and 600 women participating.
10km Int'l Costa Rica (CRC)
Guillermo Saenz
70230-1000, San Jose, COSTA RICA
Tel: +506 222 0804; Fax: +506 232 4543
Email:
maraintercostarica@hotmail.com
Website: under construction
NEXT RACE DATE: 28 SEPTEMBER 2008
The 10km Int'l Costa Rica (CRC) is a sister event to the Costa Rica International Maathon, and will be held for the first time on 28 September 2008.
Maratón des Alpes Maritimes Cannes-Nice (FRA)
Matthieu Etancelin
Azur Sport Organisation
16 bvd Pape Jean XXIII, 06300 Nice, FRANCE
Tel: +33 4 93 26 19 12; Fax: +33 4 93 26 19 34
Email:
mail@azur-sport.org
Website:
www.marathon06.com
NEXT RACE DATE: 9 NOVEMBER 2008
To be held for the first time on 9 November, the Marathon des Alpes Maritimes Cannes-Nice (FRA) is a sister event to the Nice International Half Marathon.
Poznan Half Marathon (POL)
Janusz Rajewski
POSiR, Chwialkowskiego 34, 61-553 Poznan, Poland
Tel: +48 61 835 79 17; Fax: +48 61 835 79 20
Email:
info@halfmarathon.poznan.pl
Website:
www.halfmarathon.poznan.pl
NEXT RACE DATE: 6 APRIL 2008
To be held for the first time on 6 April, the Poznan Half Marathon (POL) is a sister event to the Poznan Marathon, held in October.
Departing Members
The following memberships are discontinued for 2008:
Maui Marathon and Half (USA); Mount Desert Marathon (USA); Run Surf City Marathon (USA); Buenos Aires Marathon (ARG); Half Marathon of Bahia (BRA); Angkor Wat Half Marathon (CAM); Egyptian Marathon (EGY); Tallinn Half Marathon (EST); Ruska Marathon (FIN); Nuuk Marathon (GLD); Lake Myvatn Marathon (ISL); Dead Sea Half Marathon (ISR); Three Hearts Marathon (SLO).
Race Dates
For most recent AIMS event listings please check the website:
www.aimsworldrunning.org/calendar
AIMS/CITIZEN World Fastest Time Award to Haile Gebrselassie
Haile Gebrselassie was presented with the AIMS/Citizen World's Fastest Time Award on 23 November 2007, at the Great Ethiopian Run pre-race press conference at the Sheraton Hotel, Addis Ababa for his World Record performance (2:04:26) at this year's Berlin Marathon on 30 September. Haile received the AIMS/CITIZEN WORLD'S FASTEST TIME AWARD from Mary Wittenberg of the New York City Marathon.
This time is the fastest time ever run for the marathon distance, and is recognised by both AIMS and IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations).
AIMS President Hiroaki Chosa commented: “It is with pleasure that we recognise this achievement of Haile Gebrselassie. Ethiopia is a country greatly respected throughout the rest of the World for producing some of the finest athletes ever seen. Haile is now officially the fastest man in the World over the marathon distance.”
Haile Gebrselassie remarked, “This is really wonderful. I want to say thank you to AIMS and IAAF. Thank you also to Citizen for giving me this award from my race in Berlin. I am so happy to receive this award.”
AIMS Children's Series
The final event in the AIMS Children's Series 2007 was again held in conjunction with the Great Ethiopian Run in Addis Ababa. It had been scheduled for 8 September to coincide with the Ethiopian Millennium celebrations, but at the late request of the Government was put back to the regular date, the last weekend in November.
There were four Children's races held on 24 November: under 8s and under 11s for both girls and boys, but children as young as three took part, alongside their parents or brothers and sisters. Each race was over a 1km out-and-back course which started and finished in Meskel Square, a huge semi-circular space with raked terraces like an amphitheatre.
Presentations were made by Race Patron Haile Gebrselassie, Mary Wittenberg (race director of the New York City Marathon) and Tim Clarke (the outgoing European Union Ambassador). Apart from medals, T-shirts, snacks and drinks for all the first few finishers in each race won shoes and bags, in an initiative funded by charitable efforts of the Tokyo Marathon, initiated by ASICS. Ethiopian airlines also provided a race souvenir.
Race director Richard Nerurkar commented “I think this event is here to stay.”
Sao Paulo Plans Ahead
On 24 November, the day before the 13th Samsung 10K Corpore Sao Paulo Classic, Corpore Brazil gathered 20 people from various race organizations in Brazil and neighbouring countries to discuss matters of mutual interest during the 1st Preparatory Meeting to the 17th AIMS World Congress, that will also be organized by Corpore on the occasion of the 10th Sao Paulo Corpore Half Marathon, in April 2009. Also attending the meeting were coaches, former runners and official representatives of various cities.
David Cytrynowiz and Octávio Aronis, Corpore's President and Vice President, hosted the meeting. Martha Morales, AIMS Board member, was an official guest and presented her observations of how races in Mexico had co-operated among themselves and affiliated to AIMS as a move towards greater international integration.
The presentation developed into a workshop considering how races can grow within an international framework. Many attending races had up to 20 years of experience but felt that further improvement could come through greater international recognition, which might be gained by exchanging programs, wider publication of calendars and results, and attracting top foreign runners.
How neighbouring countries could co-operate in the promotion of their races was considered and attendees looked forward to exchanging views with European and North American at the Sao Paulo Congress. Those attending were keen to develop relations with other American events in order to secure highest possible attendance at the AIMS Congress.
Specific topics of interest included issues relating to traffic control, policy concerning cancellation of an event and relations with Federations. Several races expressed a wish to affiliate to AIMS, including the nationally known 10km races.
IAAF TV Programme for Road Running
IAAF launches their televised road running magazine at the beginning of 2008, featuring more than 50 countries in the 50 weekly programmes, covering lifestyle, competition updates, runner profiles, and much more.
The Running Road Show is for runners, their families and fans and will link elite performers to club runners and to the everyday jogger. The show will provide tips, news and features of interest to the entire community. The TV magazine which was officially launched this autumn at Sportel, Monaco has FOX as its commercial partner in a deal that will run through 2008 with an option to continue for further years.
“Road running is the most populous, diverse branch of our sport,” commented IAAF President Lamine Diack. “IAAF wishes to strengthen its connections with and further help to promote this mass movement. The Running Road Show is a dynamic new tool for achieving this goal by offering attractive TV to the road running community, by providing year-round TV coverage.”
Based in Los Angeles, Fox Sports International (FSI) is an international sports programming and production entity housed within the Fox Cable Networks Group. FSI joined with HM Capital Partners, LLC to form Fox Pan American Sports LLC, one of the world's largest Spanish-language sports operations and programming ventures, spanning North, Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean.
In the Venetian Garden
This year Italy celebrates 90 years since the end of the First World War. The territory of Treviso, known as the “Garden of Venice” and located just 30km north of the city, was in the front line of the conflict and will commemorate the event with a special edition of its marathon on 30 March.
Three separate race starts (from Vittorio Veneto as usual, but also from Vidor and Ponte di Piave) will meet at around 22km in Ponte della Priula, just before crossing the River Piave. Runners at each start will be given colour coding so that a spectacular “tricolori” effect will be created at the merge point. Each course has been measured and certified to AIMS standards.
After merging, all runners then follow the usual course to the finish line in Treviso where a diverse program of events will be held, all in commemoration of the Great War.
Just three years after the race was founded there were 3700 finishers in last year's edition. For 2008, still three months before the race date, 4300 entries have been received.
Distance Running
The January–March 2008 edition of Distance Running is being distributed. The advertising and editorial deadline of the April-June 2008 edition is on 9 March.
Send race reports and results to: aimssec@aol.com
Send pictures to: distancerunning@inpositionmedia.co.uk
CHECK RACE RESULTS AT:
www.aimsworldrunning.org/results
Dates to Avoid
The IAAF has fixed the dates of their forthcoming championship races as indicated below. Members are strongly urged to avoid scheduling their races on the dates listed:
| 2008: | IAAF World Cross-Country Championships | 30 March | Edinburgh (GBR) |
| XXIX Olympic Games | 15-24 August | Beijing (CHN) | |
| IAAF World Road Running Championships | 12 October | Rio de Janeiro (BRA) |
