27 April 2023: The Daily Mile, supported by INEOS, today celebrated the inaugural World Daily Mile Day with a global celebration designed to get as many schools and early years settings around the world taking part in The Daily Mile on the same day.

To mark the occasion, The Daily Mile Foundation journeyed back to its Scottish roots by holding a large in-person celebration in Dundee. Alongside this was a global virtual event, seeing over a quarter of a million children across the world take part.

At the Dundee event, which was supported by the Dundee Active Schools Team, over 1,000 children participated in The Daily Mile in the grounds of a transformed Baxter Park that included a stage, music, and guest speakers. Children came from local primary and SEN schools and enjoyed their Daily Mile in front of founder Elaine Wyllie MBE and athletes including Olympian Eilidh Doyle, Paralympian Owen Miller MBE, Paralympian Derek Rae, and long distance runner Jake Smith, as well as Maree Todd, Minister for Social Care Mental Wellbeing and Sport, Dundee City Council, Sportscotland, and Scottish Athletics.

The Daily Mile has been adopted by over 17,000 schools and early years settings worldwide, in 90 countries which equates to over 4 million children. Since its inception, The Daily Mile has grown across Scotland, with over 50% of schools now taking part.

World Daily Mile Day was created following the successful event held last year to celebrate The Daily Mile’s 10th birthday which brought together hundreds of thousands of children globally.

Established in Scotland in 2012 as a school-based programme, the aim of The Daily Mile is to improve the physical, social, emotional, and mental health and wellbeing of children – regardless of age, ability, or personal circumstances. The Daily Mile is a social physical activity, with children running, jogging, wheeling or walking for 15 minutes at their own pace in the fresh air with friends.

Elaine Wyllie MBE, Founder of The Daily Mile, says: “We are so excited to celebrate our first ever World Daily Mile Day - The Daily Mile has had an incredible journey over the years. When we started The Daily Mile at my school in Stirling, we could never have imagined that we’d reach a landmark 4 million children across the world. This would not have been possible without the support from children, teachers, schools, early years settings and our partners.

“I have always believed The Daily Mile has the potential to have a positive and sustained impact on our children’s health and wellbeing. There really has never been a more important time to work collectively to improve health and wellbeing for all children and we are committed to building on the positive progress over the past 10 years.”

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Founder & Chairman of INEOS, said “We know that the positive experiences we have at a young age shape habits for life - which is why it's so key to help young children enjoy getting active daily. Running is the simplest, most natural exercise you can do, it's fun and social, and it helps to teach the basics of a healthy lifestyle. As childhood becomes more sedentary than ever, we're proud that The Daily Mile initiatives have helped over 4 million children get up and running since 2012 - and are inspiring their families, too.”

The Daily Mile Foundation is also pleased to announce Eilidh Doyle, Olympic medallist and Scotland’s most decorated track and field athlete is encouraging schools across Scotland to get involved. Her love for running combined with expertise as a teacher is inspiring for children up and down the country.

Eilidh Doyle, track & field athlete and ambassador for The Daily Mile, said, “It is great to see the Daily Mile growing in Scotland and I’m delighted to continue as the Ambassador as I think it is a really positive initiative to get young people more active. As a former teacher I approve!”

“It's fantastic to see so many schools signed up so far and I encourage as many schools as possible to get involved. I’m excited to be endorsing this programme because I feel passionately that youngsters should be given the opportunity to be active and that hopefully starts out at primary school. Exercising with friends is so much fun and being active from a young age has many benefits.”

Maree Todd, Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport in Scotland says: “As Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport I am delighted to be in Dundee again this year to celebrate World Daily Mile Day, it has been wonderful to attend this event and see so many children outside having fun and being active. The Daily Mile is accessible and inclusive, it not only has the ability to improve health and wellbeing but also contribute towards improved learning. Physical activity and sport have such an important role to play in society and initiatives like The Daily Mile are a fantastic way to embedded activity into daily routines, I would urge all educations settings to participate in The Daily Mile.”