Designed for schools, the Active Mile Daily Track is a great way to get pupils running a mile each day in a fun and social setting. Simple to use, easy for teachers to implement and 100% free for schools forever, this is a great way to increase physical activity without having to spend time teaching laps or planning lessons.
The widely adopted Daily Mile is a 15-minute outdoor exercise programme where children run, jog and walk around a track whilst socialising with friends. The programme has been shown to help improve wellbeing and is a great way of breaking up classroom time. Its anecdotally reported benefits include cognitive performance, behaviour and health outcomes. However, no previous research has investigated the anecdotally reported health impacts of the Daily Mile in a primary school population using objective measures.
From Couch Potato to Active Mile Enthusiast: A Transformation Story
A quasi-experimental repeated measures pilot study was undertaken at two state primary schools in the Stirling Council area, one of which intended to introduce the Daily Mile and the other which did not plan to do so (control school). Pupils (4-12 years) were randomly assigned to either take part in the Daily Mile or continue to follow their regular curriculum. Baseline and follow-up assessments were conducted in the same academic year. Measures included accelerometer-assessed average daily moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA), average daily sedentary behaviour, 20-m shuttle run fitness test performance and adiposity measured by the sum of skinfolds.
Acceptance of participation was high in both schools (>77%). Teachers in the intervention school felt that their children had benefitted from the Daily Mile and this was reflected in the baseline data. At the control school, some teachers cited barriers to participation such as lack of facilities, inclement weather and the need for teacher time to facilitate the Daily Mile.