Bernard Lagat supports The Daily Mile

We love that running brings people together! Bernard Lagat and Eliud Kipchoge were childhood neighbours in Kenya. Fast-forward to 2019 and Lagat was invited to be a Pacemaker Captain for Eliud’s INEOS 1:59 Challenge attempt!

5-time Olympian and medalist, Bernard Lagat supports The Daily Mile!

Brett Robinson supports The Daily Mile

  • 2010 Olympic marathon finalist
  • Pacemaker captain for Eliud Kipchoge’s INEOS 1:59 Challenge

… Brett Robinson supports The Daily Mile!

Press Release: Junior Gunners take centre stage at Emirates Stadium with The Daily Mile

JUNIOR GUNNERS TAKE CENTRE STAGE AT EMIRATES STADIUM WITH THE DAILY MILE

Junior Gunners will get a once-in-a-lifetime chance to run their own Daily Mile and take centre stage in the half-time Pitch Parade at Emirates Stadium, during the Arsenal v Southampton game on Saturday 23rd November.

The Daily Mile Foundation has proudly partnered with Islington Council, London Marathon Events and Arsenal to host a half-time event promoting the initiative, with the aim to encourage more young Londoners to get active.

Now one of the world’s biggest and most influential children’s health and fitness initiatives, The Daily Mile has more than 2.3 million children signed-up to take part across 71 countries. The ground-breaking initiative has already seen more than 5,300 schools and nurseries sign-up in England, alone.

The half-time event will celebrate the defining message that 15 minutes of daily activity is life changing for the health and wellbeing of everyone, regardless of age, ability, or personal circumstance. The Daily Mile’s association with Arsenal follows an inaugural ‘Daily Mile Day’ in July, organised by London Marathon Events and the club now hosts regular Daily Mile visits from schools on Fridays. In association with Islington Council, the club is now planning regular events at its landmark North London stadium in a bid to inspire more young people.

Junior Gunners and pupils from Drayton Park School will be joined on the pitch by The Daily Mile’s Founder, Elaine Wyllie MBE, who founded the initiative while Headteacher at a single primary school in Stirling, Scotland. She is now actively involved in rolling out the programme internationally.

Speaking about the upcoming half-time Pitch Parade Elaine said: “We are thrilled to be bringing The Daily Mile back to this iconic sporting venue and are inspired by the incredible support we’ve had from Islington Council and Arsenal Football Club whose combined influence will no doubt encourage more young people to see the importance of daily activity. Furthermore, on a personal level, my husband and I live in Burntisland, Scotland, which is where David Danskin, the founding member of Arsenal was born. I really believe this was meant to be!”

Headteacher of Drayton Park School, Annabelle Kapoor, said: “We love The Daily Mile! It fits brilliantly into our learning curriculum. The children can see themselves getting fitter and faster. The staff love it too, as it settles the children for learning and is an excellent social time for the class. Children run side-by-side, chatting and encouraging each other – they high-five their teachers as they go and challenge them to keep up! We are really excited and proud to be chosen to represent Islington schools at this event.”

Arsenal in the Community’s Healthy Living Coordinator, Joe Chaffey, commented: “We are delighted to be able to continue our support of The Daily Mile at our Premier League match against Southampton. Community focus has been deep-rooted in the Arsenal values since David Danskin founded the club in 1886 and we are proud to be able to use our influence today to help positively impact the lives of young people and inspire them to get active.”

Hugh Brasher, Event Director at London Marathon Events, said: “The Daily Mile is a fantastic initiative to get kids active. It not only helps them physically but also helps improve concentration and well-being throughout the school day. There are now over 700 primary schools signed up to The Daily Mile in London and we’re delighted that Arsenal have chosen to showcase the initiative at their game against Southampton.”

ENDS.

 

Media contacts

MediaZoo for The Daily Mile Foundation: Chris Hall chris.hall@mediazoo.tv – 07739 571 634

Arsenal Football Club: George Martindale – gmartindale@arsenal.co.uk – 07523 503 355

London Marathon Events: Lianne Hogan – lianne.hogan@londonmarathonevents.co.uk – 07921 465 111

Islington Council: Stephen Moore – stephen.moore2@islington.gov.uk – 020 7527 2307

Paul Chelimo supports The Daily Mile

✔️ Friend to Eliud Kipchoge, Ambassador for The Daily Mile

✔️ Pacemaker for INEOS’ 1:59 Challenge

✔️ Silver in 2016 Olympics

✔️ Bronze in 2017 World Championships

… Paul Chelimo supports The Daily Mile!

Jack Rayner supports The Daily Mile

Running as part of a team always is more enjoyable and sustainable. That’s why our Daily Mile Ambassador, Eliud Kipchoge ran with his team of Pacemakers, and why The Daily Mile is done in school with your classmates.

Like Eliud, Jack Rayner supports The Daily Mile.

 

Fun, Freedom, Friends and Fitness – celebrating The Daily Mile in the Bailiwick of Guernsey

FUN, FREEDOM, FRIENDS AND FITNESS – CELEBRATING THE DAILY MILE IN THE BAILIWICK OF GUERNSEY

The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a group of islands (called Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, Herm, Jethou, Brecqhou and Lihou) within the Channel Islands. Situated in the Bay of St. Malo the Islands are geographically closer to France, only 27 miles from the Normandy coast, and 70 miles from the south coast of England.

Guernsey , the largest island  is approximately 9 miles by 6 miles and has a population of over 60,000. The Bailiwick of Guernsey loves The Daily Mile and here we hear about how it works in Guernsey.

Why do The Daily Mile?

In recent years there has been a growing recognition that more needs to be done by the whole community to enable our young people to experience the huge range of physical and mental health benefits of being physically active. Locally, the recently announced Guernsey Young People’s Survey recorded that 71% of primary aged pupils and 57% of secondary-aged pupils said that they were physically active for at least sixty minutes on 4 or more days in the week before the survey. This is a significant increase on previous years, and schools and the wider community have certainly embraced the benefits of giving young people the opportunity to be more active. An important part of the primary school results has been the introduction of The Daily Mile in The Bailiwick of Guernsey.

Doing The Daily Mile at Government House with Lady Corder

The Daily Mile was originally developed by Elaine Wyllie MBE, a former headteacher from Scotland. It is a simple and free way for schools to help their pupils to get more active by encouraging them to run or jog for 15 minutes every day during the school day. The focus is on personal achievement, having fun and improving individual records rather than on who is the fastest. Physical activity improves children’s’ fitness, bone health, wellbeing and concentration at school. The Daily Mile is also growing internationally and over 10,000 schools are registered with The Daily Mile Foundation, across 71 countries.

Enjoying The Daily Mile at St Mary and St Michael

Elaine Wyllie visited the island in October 2017 where she spoke at the Thrive 2020 conference. We then invited Elaine back to see how we had developed The Daily Mile in Guernsey. Her straightforward, no-nonsense approach impressed the audience, which included various headteachers. One of her opening statements summed up the initiative and its success: “It’s not PE, it’s not sport, it’s not competitive. There is no kit, no cool or uncool clothes, no body-image issues, no equipment, no staff training. The children just go out, and they are expected to run if they can, or walk”.

Elaine and John Wyllie at Castel Primary School

Elaine spent the weekend on the island and, after visiting school sites – she clearly thought that the island was well placed to take up The Daily Mile. Elaine commented: “The idea that Guernsey is an island with a lovely climate, and each school has access to a nice area means it is perfect. In an island this size, the idea could spread like wildfire, and everyone can get involved – it really is an attractive prospect.”

The Daily Mile in Guernsey

So, where are we now?

The Daily Mile is going from strength to strength in Guernsey. A dozen schools in The Bailiwick of Guernsey now report that they regularly enjoy The Daily Mile.
The Daily Mile has been praised in recent Guernsey school inspections and has played a prominent role in the submissions of those primary Schools who have recently received the Guernsey Healthy Schools Awards. It’s especially pleasing to see that schools are continually reviewing, in discussions with their pupils, how they do The Daily Mile and how its benefits can be maximised.

Early Years pupils at Torteval Pre-school and their first experience of The Daily Mile

Additional Guernsey elements to The Daily Mile

We have added some ‘Guernsey’ elements to The Daily Mile. Schools have celebrity supporters – for example, top local athletes, the Chalmers brothers (Alistair and Cameron) have been regular visitors. We have also arranged for local signage with maps of the routes on the school sites as well as pairing schools off with supportive local employers. Importantly, several pupil ambassadors nominated from each school are giving us feedback on how things are going.

GB International, Cameron Chalmers enjoying The Daily Mile at Beechwood

Primary school pupils are not the sole beneficiaries of The Daily Mile. All sectors of the community are looking for easy, accessible ways of becoming active so Guernsey, like other The Daily Mile communities, have tried to open up the initiative to others. We have been especially keen to support our early years settings, which are well placed to introduce 15 minutes of walking into their day. Five settings have trialled The Daily Mile, so far. After all, what better time to create a habit of activity but in a child’s early years?

The Daily Mile is for all weathers – Here we are at a very soggy Specsavers PLC measuring The Daily Mile

To get a feel for The Daily Mile, have a look at the lovely video created for us by the CoOp Helping Hands initiative to celebrate their support of The Daily Mile. The Helping Hands charity also supported us to produce our Guernsey-branded signage. But, essentially, we have followed Elaine’s advice that we keep things simple and inexpensive, and remember that the real key to its success is that children enjoy it because it is a social activity in the fresh air.

 

 

Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the National Lottery

25th Anniversary of the National Lottery

#BecauseYouPlay

Dear National Lottery Players,

As we celebrate the 25th birthday of the National Lottery, we want to say thank you.

Because you play the National Lottery, physical activity is changing the lives of many children across England. Since January, when The Daily Mile commenced its partnership with Sports England, Coordinators have been busy visiting schools up and down the country, encouraging them to sign up and take part in The Daily Mile.

The Daily Mile is a physical activity that takes place during school hours, where all children are encouraged to run or jog for 15 minutes a day at whatever pace suits the child best. It is profoundly simple, but can be transformational to children’s health and wellbeing. Come rain or shine, it gets children active with their friends and teachers and refreshed for further learning.

Because you play the National Lottery, children who do The Daily Mile:

  • Have improved focus and concentration in the classroom
  • Show improved fitness and muscle strength
  • Are more active and develop healthy habits for a lifetime

Because you play the National Lottery, since January we have signed up almost 2,000 more schools across England. Around the world 10,000 schools now take part in The Daily Mile with over 2 million children getting Fit For Life!

Wouldn’t it be incredible if The Daily Mile children became our next sporting heroes and champions… winning golds and scoring goals, people who become ambassadors for embracing a fit and healthy lifestyle from a young age.

From everyone at The Daily Mile Foundation, thank you. Because you play, more and more children across England are getting Fit For Life.

 

Signed,

The Daily Mile Foundation

 

School pictured: Belmont School (SEN)

One of many schools across England who are proudly supported by The Daily Mile Coordinators, funded by the National Lottery.