Press Release: The Daily Mile comes home to Scotland as children run at halftime at Murrayfield

THE DAILY MILE COMES HOME TO SCOTLAND AS CHILDREN RUN AT HALFTIME AT MURRAYFIELD

  • 45 children from the primary schools Roseburn, Leithwalk and St Joseph’s RC will run The Daily Mile at half-time of the Scotland vs Argentina Autumn Test this Saturday 24th November at Murrayfield.
  • The Daily Mile is now in over 6,600 schools in 55 countries with over 1,300,000 children taking part and continues to grow daily.
  • With support from Scottish Rugby, the Minister for Children and Young People, Maree Todd MSP and the Minister for Public Health, Sport and Wellbeing, Joe FitzPatrick MSP, the first ever half-time Daily Mile will take place at BT Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh to celebrate the popular children’s fitness initiative going back where it first started.

Scottish Rugby , Minister for Children and Young People, Maree Todd MSP and the Minister for Public Health, Sport and Wellbeing, Joe FitzPatrick MSP will join the founder of The Daily Mile, Elaine Wyllie, in the first ever half-time Daily Mile at the Scotland v Argentina rugby match at BT Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh as the initiative returns to its home turf.

The Daily Mile was founded at a single primary school in Stirling by former headteacher Elaine Wyllie in 2012. Since then the initiative’s simple message that 15 minutes of daily activity in the school-day can have profound health and wellbeing benefits has spread to 55 countries across the world with over 1,300,000 children taking part. The ground-breaking campaign has enjoyed particular success in Scotland with over 40% of Scottish primary schools currently signed-up. Saturday’s run follows a momentous year for The Daily Mile in which the initiative has grown globally, been supported by high-profile stars including Mo Farrah and Andy Murray and been featured as a key measure in the Scottish Government’s Physical Activity Delivery Plan and the UK Government’s Childhood Obesity Strategy.

45 children and their teachers from the primary schools: Roseburn, Leithwalk and St Josephs, RC will run for fifteen minutes around the outside of the pitch during half time. A Daily Mile film featuring Andy Murray will be on the big screens during the course of the run to highlight the children’s health and well-being initiative and mark its success.

Celebrating The Daily Mile at a live sporting event in Scotland highlights how far the initiative has come since its first launch and the significant role it has played on thousands of children.

The Daily Mile is a fun, free and profoundly simple fitness initiative where children run or jog for fifteen minutes every day. So far, the campaign has had a remarkable year of growth in 2018. As well as achieving its highest ever public profile and playing a significant role in the fight against obesity, it has also been endorsed by significant media outlets and public figures including the Prime Minister, Theresa May. Since research findings from the Universities of Stirling and Edinburgh confirmed the initiative boosts activity levels in class and improves fitness and body composition, thousands of schools have signed up. In June the UK Government confirmed that The Daily Mile would be a key factor in halving childhood obesity by 2030.

Elaine Wyllie, Founder of The Daily Mile, said:

“I am very excited to be bringing The Daily Mile home to Scotland, where it all began, at such a prestigious sporting event. Since starting The Daily Mile six years ago whilst the headteacher of a Primary School in Stirling, the initiative has been on an incredible journey with a total of 6,767 schools now signed up.

 The lives of thousands of children have already been altered by this simple, free and effective activity. Together with the Scottish Government and Scottish Rugby Union, I look forward to encouraging more schools across our great nation, to get active by participating in The Daily Mile.”

Minister for Public Health, Sport and Wellbeing, Joe FitzPatrick MSP  said:

“Scotland’s Daily Mile initiative is catching the imagination of the UK and beyond. We want Scotland to be the first ‘Daily Mile Nation’, with nurseries, colleges, universities and workplaces joining over 800 Scottish schools regularly taking part.

I hope that the support from Scottish Rugby at the game today will encourage even more schools and workplaces to sign up and reap the benefits of becoming more active more often. Taking small steps by jogging, walking or running for 15 minutes, people can make huge changes to their health and wellbeing.”

 ENDS.

 

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