Press Release: Founder of The Daily Mile wins Children and Young People Award

Elaine Wyllie won the award during last night’s London Sport Awards
at Wembley Stadium.

Elaine was celebrated for her outstanding contribution to encouraging London’s young people to become more physically active.

A former head teacher, Elaine founded The Daily Mile in 2012. It has now grown to more than 3,000 schools, including 310 schools in London.

Elaine said, “This is a fantastic honour for the whole Daily Mile team, which is committed to helping children get fit and healthy outside in the fresh air. I’m really proud of the teachers and children across London who are making The Daily Mile happen every day.”
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Elaine Wyllie, former head teacher and founder of The Daily Mile, was awarded the Children and Young People Award from London Sport last night at Wembley Stadium. Elaine was recognised for her work in encouraging children and young people in London to lead physically active lifestyles, through her charitable foundation The Daily Mile.
The London Sport Awards celebrate grassroots physical activity and sport across the capital, striving to be the #MostActiveCity. The Children and Young People Award recognises projects that apply a creative approach to incorporating regular physical activity into daily routines, encouraging participation from under-represented groups and resulting in a positive impact on the lives, health and wellbeing of young people in London.

Elaine says, “I’m absolutely thrilled to have won. It’s a fantastic honour for The Daily Mile team to be recognised for our commitment to helping children and young people across London get fit and healthy. I’m really proud of the teachers and children across London who are making The Daily Mile happen every day.”

The Daily Mile is a simple, free, but profoundly effective concept where school children run or jog for 15 minutes every day. There are 310 schools in London taking part in The Daily Mile.
Elaine founded The Daily Mile in 2012 when she was head teacher of St Ninians Primary School in Stirling. She had become increasingly concerned about the lack of fitness in her students. Within just four weeks, fitness levels had dramatically increased, attention levels and behaviour in class improved and parents commented that their children were more active and alert and were sleeping much better.

In just six short years, The Daily Mile has spread to more than 1,800 schools across the UK and over 3,000 schools around the world.
Elaine has since retired from teaching and has dedicated herself to introducing The Daily Mile to schools across the UK and abroad. She is passionate about improving the physical, social, mental and emotional health and wellbeing of our children.

The Irish Daily Mile team would like to congratulate Elaine and all her colleagues on this fantastic achievement.