Sport Relief Mile
The Sport Relief Mile was created to give the campaign a focus with an event that was open to anyone to run, walk, jog, wheel, bounce or crawl, regardless of ability or age. It was also designed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Sir Roger Bannister's first sub-four minute mile. Participants can also choose to cover 3 miles or 6 miles (close to, but slightly shorter than, the 5K and 10K distances more commonly used in mass runs).
81,000 people took part in the first Sport Relief Mile, sponsored by Fitness First, in 2004. Sainsbury's is now the official sponsor of the Mile.
In 2006 more than 423,000 people took part in the Sport Relief Mile, making it one of the biggest mass participation events in history. The Sport Relief Mile Show on BBC1 on the morning of Saturday 15 July was presented by John Inverdale and Colin Jackson and drew an audience of almost a million with an 18% share.
Among the 20,000 participants who took part at London's Embankment were Lord Coe, Dame Kelly Holmes, Sportacus, McFly, Michael Watson, Tessa Sanderson, G4, Jamie Oliver and Sadie Frost.
Televised Miles were also held in Brighton, Southampton, Plymouth, Bristol, Cardiff, Belfast, Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle/Gateshead, Leeds, Hull, Nottingham, Birmingham and Ipswich.
Children from Amsterdam, Netherlands (The British School of Amsterdam) took part in 2008 and again in 2010.
In 2010 a large amount of schools in Britain did a Sport Relief mile.
Read more about this topic: Sport Relief
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—Northern Irish Tourist Board. quoted in New Statesman (London, Aug. 29, 1969)
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