The Association of International Marathons and Distance Races, also known as AIMS, is an association of long-distance running races. Originally founded in 1982 at a meeting in London of marathon

Marathon

The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...

 race directors, its membership was extended in 1986 to include all road races. In June 2009 over 270 race organisations were members.

Objectives

According to its Articles of Association, AIMS's objectives are:

1. to foster and promote distance running throughout the world;
2. to work with the International Association of Athletic Federations on all matters relating to international road races, and;
3. to exchange information, knowledge and expertise among the members of the Association.

Course measurement and world records

AIMS works together with IAAF 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:

• a course must not be, from start to finish, downhill by more than 1 metre in height per kilometre of length
• that 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.

All races which have obtained IAAF Road Race Label Events

IAAF Road Race Label Events

IAAF Road Race Label Events are annual running competitions which have been granted recognition by the International Association of Athletics Federations as being among the foremost competitions of their type...

have been subject to AIMS/IAAF course measurement standards.