IAU News and Updates!

Press release from the International Association of Ultrarunners following their annual meeting in Monaco. Bend resident and 100k Champion Kami Semick pictured left:

Dear IAU Friends,

We, at the IAU, hope that all of you have had an enjoyable new year and are now all set to achieve new goals set for 2010.

The IAU Executive recently held their Annual meeting in Monaco. Several important decisions came out of the meeting.

One important change you will notice about the IAU-sanctioned world events is the consistency of calling all the events as “Championship” as opposed to previously used distinctions of “World Cup” or “Challenge”.

Some of the news items at the start of 2010 are highlighted below:

1) Best Athletes of the Year (Male and Female)

IAU is pleased to announce the creation of the “BEST ATHLETES OF THE YEAR” Award. This annual award will be given to the best performances for male and female athletes.

The important points to be noted for this award are as follows:

• The nominations will open on December 15th of each year at 12am EST
• The nominations will close on January 7th of each year at 11:59pm EST
• Any individual can nominate an athlete to be considered for this award
• Nominations can be received through online or email submission
• A limit of 1 nomination will be placed per email address

The Executive Council at the Annual Meeting will consider the athletes nominated and make their decision for the award. Please note that due consideration will be given to the number of nominations that each nominee receives.

For further information read article online.

2) New Agreement with World Masters Association (WMA)

It is with great pleasure that we announce that the IAU has struck a new agreement with the World Masters Association (WMA).

The two associations have a long history of joining forces in providing ultra events to our athletes. This year will see a return of the World Athletics Championship 100km with a Masters version attached to the race.

The highlights of this new agreement are:

• WMA sanctions ever year a World Athletics Championships 100K.

• If the WMA is hosting a World Championship within a month of the IAU 100km World Cup, then the WMA will not be participating in the IAU event in that year.

• IAU organizes every year an IAU World Cup 100K for national teams and has agreed to organise the WMA World Masters Athletics Championships 100K every year in conjunction with its own World Cup 100K. The competition site is decided by IAU.

For further information read article online.

3) Inaugural 100 km Asian Championship

The inaugural 100 km Asian Championship is taking place on March 27th. The event is taking place in Jeju, South Korea and it promises to be an outstanding race.

4) 8th 24 Hour World Championship

The 8th Annual 24 Hour event is well on pace for May 13th in Brive-la-Gaillarde, France. The preliminary invitations have been sent to Member Federations.

5) 50 km World Trophy Final

The 50 km World Trophy Final has been awarded to Galway, Ireland. The race is scheduled for August 29th. The race series is being worked on and will be published online as soon as it is available.

6) 24th 100 km World Championship

The 24th Annual event is set for November 7th 2010 in Gibraltar. Organization work is progressing very well and the outcome looks very positive.

7) Deadlines for Bidding on Future IAU events

Deadlines will be imposed for bidding on future events to give all organizations an opportunity to place a bid with the IAU. For bids to hold events in 2012 and 2013, application process is now open and will close in September 2010.


The 2010 Season is shaping out to be another outstanding season, both on the organizational and administrational, front. You will once again see athletes at the centre-stage of our association.

If you have any questions, or suggestions and comments, please feel free to contact us. We look forward to seeing you this year at one of our main events.


Nadeem Khan
Director of Communications
nadeem.khan@iau-ultramarathon.org