European Mile celebrated with 1742 events in 32 countries

ISCA’s newest event kicked off at the start of 2021 with an invitation for people to get back into physical activity at their own pace – by running or walking a mile (1.6km) or more. The European Mile campaign was celebrated in 32 countries, promoting the message that every move and every mile counts towards better health and wellbeing, and that it’s easy to find the time and space to #FindYourMile.

The target was 1000 events, but the NowWeMOVE National Coordinators and MOVE Agents almost doubled this goal by organising 1742 events, where a total of just under 590,000 participants found their mile by running, walking, skiing and cycling. Many donated their miles towards local causes and/or the campaign’s international charity, the Daily Mile Foundation.

Participants ranged from pre-school children to seniors, people with disabilities, families, elite athletes, military, prisoners, conference delegates and even dogs! In fact, the Dog Race in Chisinau, Moldova, set a national record for the most dogs (and their owners) starting a race.

The official day for celebrating the European Mile was 5 June, but events were also held to coincide with other occasions, including World Autism Awareness Day in Croatia, Children’s Day in the Czech Republic and Open Ski Festival in Serbia. Virtual events also gathered people online, with Digital Miles streamed by V4Sport in Poland, Athletics Ireland and SESC in Brazil.

IMPACT AND LEGACY

Almost 10,000 participants donated a total of 546,245 miles, which were then converted to a cash donation of 10,000 euro to the Daily Mile Foundation. The funds will support the foundation’s initiatives to get more children around Europe moving for at least 15 minutes every day.

Some European Mile events launched the Daily Mile at new schools, meaning that many children will continue with the Daily Mile challenge beyond the event. Being associated with the Daily Mile and European Mile also helped some of the organisers generate more awareness of their national activities through TV and radio coverage and new partnerships.

The European Mile reunited MOVE Agents face-to-face with their participants and spectators, and many remarked that the high levels of attendance reflected people’s “hunger” to move again together after the Covid-19 lockdowns.

Local communities were “delighted and proud to participate in a European project” and many events gained support from municipalities and politicians (including the Norwegian Minister for Culture). Clubs and the NowWeMOVE National Coordinators have expressed their interest in continuing with the initiative in 2022.