International Marathon Medical Directors Association (IMMDA)

• Children & Marathoning: How young is too young? Led by Stephen G. Rice, MD, Ph.D., MPH, FACSM
   
• Marathon-related deaths: When is it a race related event? Led by Steven Van Camp, MD, FACSM and Paul Thompson, MD, FACSM
   
• Hyponatremia Update: When and if  Hypertonic Saline is appropriate? Led by Arthur Seigel, MD
   
• Appropriate Heat Plan Preparations: Working within your confines to produce a safe environment. Led by Lewis G. Maharam, MD, FACSM

The International Marathon Medical Directors Association (IMMDA) has been an AIMS affiliate since 1987.

IMMDA was originally founded in 1982 by the medical directors of three international marathons (London, Madrid and New York City) and has since grown to include 43 marathon medical directors from five continents. IMMDA's main objectives are to study the health of long-distance runners, promote knowledge of the best methods in prevention and treatment of injuries and offer guidelines that may provide standardisation in the medical support of marathon races throughout the world. IMMDA emphasises that medical directors work closely in all matters for medical input and advice. The beauty of the organisation is that by bringing together different medical directors from very different marathons run in very different conditions, a tremendous informational resource system is created.

"Every marathon has its own set of potential medical problems," says Dr. Lewis G. Maharam, the current IMMDA Secretary/treasurer. "But because of IMMDA, medical directors have immediate access to other medical directors with significant experience in every imaginable range of circumstances, whether it be temperature, terrain or number of first-time runners. It means everyone can benefit from everyone else's experience. No medical director should have to start at square one."

In 1987 the AIMS Congress recognised IMMDA as a consulting Medical Committee. Since then it has been an affiliate body of AIMS. IMMDA has provided medical advice to marathon medical and race directors, as well as runners, on several matters. IMMDA has also provided guidelines in the medical management of marathons covering the topics of heat stress, cardiac risks, running injury prevention and many other pertinent subjects.

AIMS has consistently advised all their marathon race directors to have their medical directors join IMMDA, and IMMDA strongly encourages its members to have their race directors contact AIMS for membership.