Message from the Race Director

AIM volunteers rock!
6 April 2023

Volunteers are vital to the success of all endurance events such as the AIM, and we value and appreciate ours for bringing us this far from where we started. Over sixteen years ago, we set out to produce a beach-to-beach marathon running event that would traverse our beautiful coastline from Ningo Beach in Prampram to La Beach in Accra.

There were (and still are) many physical obstacles on the course we tried to plot, including a lagoon with an enormous pipeline that served as the only bridge to cross to the other side and proceed towards Accra. We stared, amazed, as we watched a bicyclist dismount from his bike and carry it across the pipeline to the other side of the lagoon. We scouted long and diligently to find a way along the coastline to move towards La. There was none to be had.

We revisited the area several times over the ensuing years expecting that infrastructure development, which seemed like a major ambition for whichever administration was in power, would provide a path. It didn’t, and we ended up hoping for future improvement but settling for alternate routes that did indeed get us from the Dawhenya area to La but without the scenic views we sought and knew our visiting athletes, especially, would appreciate.

Almost imperceptibly at first, the route we plotted got increasingly congested with vehicular traffic as well as with numerous hawkers who usurped the pedestrian lanes that athletes could hope to use in relative safety. As the risks to athletes increased, any beauty in the unspoiled greenery of the country-side greatly decreased thanks to man-made structures sprouting up along the route with little apparent regard for the scenery.

Without dedicated volunteers to help with transporting water and related event paraphernalia from our base in Accra to the start line 42 kilometers away, and supporting AIMers with water and other refreshments and first aid, we would not have survived to this point, where the proliferation of clean beaches along the Accra-Tema beach road have enabled us to sankofa² our dream of producing a beach-to-beach event that will highlight our scenic coastline and the friendly people who inhabit our beautiful country. Continue reading Race Director's message...

Announcing our new routes and Venue Sponsor
20 March 2023

Akwaaba dear AIMers, veterans and would-be participants as well. We bade you “ciao for now” about three years ago believing that if we followed the rules and protocols prescribed by public health authorities, we would embrace again within a year, maybe two at the most.

Well, a few false [re]starts later, conditions look promising, current global and local economic woes notwithstanding.

Ayikoo¹ to all of us for weathering the difficulties and uncertainties that dogged us over the last few years and that, unfortunately, continue to shadow us in the form of the increased cost of living and diminished financial resources. We have needed the endurance and perseverance of a marathon runner to go the distance and nurture the hope that keeps us planning and training even when no events are in sight. It has been bittersweet to keep in touch with the many of you who informed us of your training efforts even when we gave you the disappointing answer to your perennial question, “Will the event come on this year?” Continue reading Race Director's message...