Association of International Marathons and Distance Races

What Association of International Marathons and Distance Races does

AIMS is the international non-profit membership association that serves as the governing body for marathon and distance running races worldwide. Founded in 1986 and headquartered at the OACA Olympic Complex in Athens, Greece, the organization serves over 450 member race organizers across multiple continents, providing certification, course measurement standards, and an officially recognized global race calendar. Its members are the entities that own and operate mass-participation road running events (marathons, half marathons, ultras, road races, and children's series events), and AIMS membership confers international recognition, calendar inclusion, and access to a global peer network.

The organization's core technology stack is lightweight but functional: a web-based race calendar with webcal/iCalendar subscription feeds, a member directory, a results database, and a quarterly digital publication (Distance Running Magazine) distributed as PDF. The most operationally distinctive product is the One Global Mile Series, launched in 2025 and expanded to ten participating cities across Cambodia, Nepal, Maldives, Morocco, and other countries in 2026 — a simultaneous worldwide community race series open exclusively to AIMS member organizations. Course measurement standards function as the certification backbone, with race listings explicitly noting when courses are "not measurable to AIMS standards."

AIMS is funded primarily through membership fees paid by race organizers seeking certification and listing, supplemented by commercial partnerships with sports, photo, registration, and medals partners (Hiracers, Marathon Photos, RunJapan/RunNet Global, Todotrofeo). Individual race registration fees are set independently by member events. The organization holds an annual/biennial World Congress (25th edition held in Tromsø, Norway in 2026) and runs the AIMS RunVibes webinar series, distributing content via newsletter, social media (Facebook, Instagram), and a localized Japanese-language site at aims-worldrunning.jp.

Name

Association of International Marathons and Distance Races

Legal name

Association of International Marathons and Distance Races

Website

https://aims-worldrunning.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

AIMS is an international non-profit membership association headquartered in Athens, Greece, that serves as the global governing body for over 450 marathon and distance race organizer members, providing certification, course measurement standards, and a worldwide race calendar.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Association & Race Governance

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Spectator Sports (71121)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Racing, Including Track Operation (7948)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPAKAFAB

International Sport Federations (IFs)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Sports (Leagues, Teams, Events, Venues)/Sports Rights Holders & Governing Bodies (Federations, Associations, Sanctioning Bodies)

SECONDARYMPAKADAD

Mass Participation Race Organizers (Runs, Triathlons, Cycling)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Sports (Leagues, Teams, Events, Venues)/Sports Event & Tournament Organizers (Tours, Championships, Meets)

Keywords

• Marathon race organization
• Distance race certification
• Course measurement standards
• Race director network
• International running governance

Headquarters

HQ city

Athens

HQ country

Greece

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

AIMS is a non-profit international membership association that provides certification, international recognition, and standardized course measurement for marathon and distance running events organized by its member race organizations. It maintains the official global AIMS race calendar, publishes the quarterly Distance Running magazine, and hosts the annual AIMS World Congress for race directors worldwide.

Product overview

AIMS operates as a membership organization for international distance running events. Its primary product is the AIMS Website Portal, which aggregates race calendars, news, results, and member information for over 450 member races worldwide. Supporting products include the AIMS Official Race Calendar (a comprehensive listing of certified races by date), Distance Running Magazine (the official quarterly publication distributed as PDF), and the One Global Mile Series (a community racing initiative launched in 2025 for AIMS member organizations).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• AIMS Official Race Calendar A searchable and filterable online calendar listing all AIMS member races, with event dates, race types (marathon, half marathon, ultra, road race), and links to individual race pages. Available to runners and the public worldwide, with an iCalendar subscription feed for calendar applications.
• One Global Mile Series Annual one-mile community race held simultaneously in cities around the world, open exclusively to AIMS member organizations.
• Distance Running Magazine Official quarterly magazine of AIMS, published as a free downloadable PDF, featuring articles on member races worldwide, athlete profiles, race reports, and organizational news.
• AIMS World Congress Annual international congress bringing together race directors from member races worldwide for knowledge sharing, governance, and networking.
• AIMS Race Certification & Membership Membership program for marathon and distance race organizer organizations, providing international race certification, course measurement standards compliance, inclusion in the official AIMS global calendar, and access to governance and networking events.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 450 member races worldwide with significant growth in South and South-East Asia

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Athlinks: Athlinks is a runner database and race results platform serving the mass participation running community. Its role in aggregating race results and runner profiles competes with AIMS's results-database feature as a discovery layer for runners.
• Race Roster: Race Roster is a race registration and event management platform that aggregates thousands of distance races globally. It represents the commercial side of race discovery and management, overlapping with AIMS's calendar and directory function.
• Marathon Guide: Marathon Guide is an online directory and calendar of marathons and distance races worldwide. It overlaps with AIMS's global race calendar as a runner-facing discovery tool for certified and non-certified events.

Regional players

• USA Track & Field (USATF): USATF is the national governing body for running and track-and-field in the United States. While national in scope, it performs an analogous certification, sanctioning, and standards role for U.S. distance races that parallels AIMS's international function.
• European Athletics: European Athletics is the continental governing body for athletics in Europe, setting standards and sanctioning events. It performs a federating and standards function similar to AIMS but at a continental level for European races.

Broad incumbents

• World Athletics: World Athletics (formerly IAAF) is the ultimate international federation for the sport of athletics including road running. It sets the top-tier rules, world records, and label systems that overlap with AIMS's certification role, making it the closest higher-tier governance peer.

Others

• LetsRun: LetsRun is a major online community and news site for distance running. While not a governing body, it is a peer in shaping the runner community narrative and international race discussion that AIMS engages through its magazine and World Congress.
• Runners World: Runner's World is the leading global consumer media brand for running. It is a peer in content, race coverage, and runner engagement, overlapping with AIMS's Distance Running magazine and news properties.

Direct peers

• World Marathon Majors: World Marathon Majors is a global alliance of the largest and most prestigious city marathons, providing coordinated elite-level road running governance and competition structure that parallels AIMS's role of connecting and elevating top distance races worldwide.
• Abbott World Marathon Majors: The Abbott World Marathon Majors (the title sponsor overlay of World Marathon Majors) coordinates an annual series of elite-level city marathons. It is a direct comparable to AIMS in aggregating and coordinating elite and mass participation road running events.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php?id=61558956519937
• Instagraminstagram.com/aimsrunvibes
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aims-the-home-of-world-running

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Association of International Marathons and Distance Races