World congress of AIMS

Speaker:

Nils Isaksen Haetta

The host race shares how unique natural conditions (midnight sun, northern lights, polar climate) can attract global runners and transform a city into a sports tourism destination.

Bio:
Nils Isaksen Haetta, born in 1961, from Kautokeino in Northen Norway
Speak, Norwegian, Sami (indigenous people in Norway) and English
Race director for Midnight Sun Marathon and PolarNight Marathon

Nils is Race director of the Midnight Sun Marathon (MSM) in Tromsø since 1996. As race director for MSM he also started up new sports and cultural events in Tromsø:

• PolarNight Marathon in 2005, that is now the largest winter running event in Norway
• Tromsø Mountain Challenge 1997
• Arctic SnowShoe Race 2018
• Sami Week with Reindeer racing and lassoing 2005

Through his work, He have a lot of contact with other national and international race organizers and collaborate with several. He has been in contact with AIMS since 1996 and participated in many Symposia and congresses organized by AIMS.

Nils is a member of the running committee in the Norwegian Athletics Association.

In 1993/1994 he worked on the cultural program and the opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. As an athlete, he has run 30 marathons and several other distances.

Speaker:

Akram Shalabi Beirut Marathon (LBN)

Exploring how marathons are catalysts for tourism, cultural exchange, and city branding in both large capitals and smaller destinations like Tromsø.

Bio:
Akram is the International Development Lead for Beirut Marathon Association. He leads the organisation’s intentional growth and reach. He has extensive experience in event organisation, community building, and helping and encouraging participants from under-represented backgrounds take part in running events. 

A keen runner and pacer, Akram leads multiple mass participant pace teams across the globe. He has helped build accurate, inclusive and sustainable teams who provide world class support and inclusive spaces for participants. 

To date, Akram has completed 164 marathons in 55 countries. The Midnight Sun Marathon will be his 165th marathon in just over 10 years.»

Speakers:

Kristiina Tuisk and Jarmo Tuisk, experts in developing and implementing AI technologies

How AI and data-driven tools are already transforming race organisation in practice – from participant communication and marketing to logistics and decision-making. This session shares practical examples and accessible solutions that race organisers of all sizes can start using today.

Bio:
Jarmo Tuisk is a recognized expert in AI whose diverse career spans extensive international experience in product management and strategic planning expertise.

Together with Kristiina, Jarmo has been leading the artificial intelligence development program at EBS Executive Education since spring 2023. He has also delivered AI training to more than 2,000 people.

Speaker Alessio Punzi, Head of running & mass participation. An update from World Athletics.

Speaker Jean Gracia. An update from European Athletics.

Speaker:

Mats Hedenström, CEO & Managing Director, Marathongruppen, adidas Stockholm Marathon (SWE)

Examining climate responsibility in the running industry, with Arctic-specific insights on how fragile ecosystems can guide sustainable practices.

Bio:
Mats Hedenström, born 1969, is since July 2025 CEO of Marathongruppen in Stockholm, Sweden.

Mats was born and grew up in Stockholm, Sweden. After elementary school and high school graduation he did his military service at the ranger regiment K4 in Arvidsjaur. He has been studying law and economy at the University of Stockholm.

Mats has over the years been very involved in politics and society development and was for 15 years working for the Moderate party in different roles, among them as Head of the party office for the Moderate party in Gothenburg and political adviser to the Mayor of Stockholm.

In recent years Mats Hedenström has been working as Head of Regional Growth Department at the County Administrative Board in Stockholm and Head of Policy at the Swedish Trade Federation.

Mats has also been president for the AIK Icehockey Club and member of the board of Marathongruppen. Since April 2026 Mats is also member of the board of the Royal Swedish Opera.

Reflecting on Achievements and Looking Ahead 

• Paco Borao: Membership and financial overview. Sponsorship
  Martha Morales: Kids Races. Women’s Commission. Social Award
  Rachid Ben Meziane: Technical Commission Report
  Brano Koniar: Digitalization Commission Report
  Gary Friar: Communication Report
  James Thie: RunVibes Report

Speaker:

Marcel Altenburg, Start Right (UK)

Start Right (UK) An engaging session on how crowd flow impacts both safety and runner experience. Marcel shares five universal principles that apply to races of any size, offering practical, science-based takeaways for organizers worldwide.

Bio:
Marcel teaches the MSc Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis, at the world’s leading university in Crowd Science. Apart from research, he also provides crowd science solutions regarding safety, risk and efficiency for projects around the globe.

Marcel has extensive experience in command and control as well as critical incident management, from a background in events and the military. His expertise includes the dynamics of crowd movements and crowd behavior in complex environments with the goals of safety and efficiency. He is independent crowd safety advisor to World Marathon Majors, world leading sport events, government agencies and police, as well as the German Football Association.

A regular part of his work is the analysis of safe environments for crowds and spectators, inside and outside of stadia. He supported the crowd safety plans at all venues of the EURO2024 as well as the German Venue at EURO2020. He was the lead crowd safety advisor to the government in the days after Queen Elizabeth II died.

Speaker:

Yu Kurosaki (R-bies Co.,Ltd. President and CEO)

Speaker:

Daniel Parker, Marathon Photos

• Running in the Digital Age – Social Media, Communities, and the Next Generation of Runners
• Youth and women in running
• Moderator: James Thie

An open-floor exchange where delegates co-create visions for AIMS’ role in uniting global running communities under shared values of inclusion, sustainability, and growth. Summary of Interactive session

Speaker: Jon Michael Boka, Founder and Executive Director of 1GM

Horst Milde, Coordinator of AIMS Marathon Museum

Few people have shaped the world of road running quite like Horst Milde. A trained master pastry chef with a degree in business administration, he ran his family’s bakery in Berlin-Tempelhof — founded in 1903 — and, in parallel, helped to invent the modern sport of marathon running.

His athletic career began with SCC Berlin, where as a middle-distance
runner he twice won the German championship in the 3×1,000 m relay, in 1964 and 1965. As a student at Freie Universität Berlin, he organised
the first Berlin cross-country race on 8 November 1964 — the event that brought running, as a sport for everyone, to Berlin and to Germany. The press called him «the man who made Berlin run.»

In 1974 he founded the BERLIN-MARATHON, today a World Marathon Major with more than 50,000 finishers each year and the venue of 13 world records. He later created the Berlin Half Marathon and other major events that shaped the city’s running calendar. The role of Race
Director has since passed to his son, Mark Milde.

His work for the sport has long reached beyond Berlin. Horst Milde was a co-founder of AIMS in 1982 and a member of its Board of Directors from 1999 to 2010. In 1996 he founded German Road Races (GRR), which he led as President for nearly two decades. And at the 9th AIMS World Congress in Macau in 1994, it was his formal proposal that set in motion the creation of the AIMS Marathon Museum of Running — today known as the Marathoneum — which he has coordinated ever since.

In November 2023, the World Athletics Heritage Plaque was awarded
jointly to the City of Berlin and the BERLIN-MARATHON, an honour
announced by World Athletics President Sebastian Coe and received in
Berlin by Horst Milde alongside Governing Mayor Kai Wegner.

Speaker:

George Hutchins, Head of Sponsorships of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)

This session explores how marathons can position themselves as powerful marketing platforms for brands. From digital storytelling to sustainability partnerships, discover what sponsors are truly looking for in 2026 and how events can deliver long-term value.

Bio:
George leads the UK & Ireland sponsorship strategy for TCS, managing partnerships across sport, technology, mass-participation events and activates the Jaguar TCS Racing partnership in London.

He has managed properties such a TCS Lidingöloppet, TCS Amsterdam Marathon, Schneider Electric Paris Marathon, KLM Open, advised on the TCS Sydney Marathon & the TCS London Marathon. He focuses on building impactful, purpose-driven programmes that elevates the TCS brand, strengthens community engagement, and showcases the company’s innovation through AI.