FAQs

For the second year, we’re asking supporters to take on the challenge of completing a mile a day in May. That’s 31 miles across the 31 days of the month.

We are asking everyone that takes on the challenge to complete 31 miles throughout May. When you register, a fundraising page will be automatically created which you can share with your friends and family.

No, you decide how you would like to tackle the challenge. Running 1 mile every day for 31 days is one option. You could even walk it - on average, it takes just 20 minutes to walk a mile.

It is up to you how you would like to face the challenge; run it, walk it, swim it, skip it or skate it – it’s completely up to you.

The Mayday Mile Challenge is a virtual event, and you decide when and where you want to complete your mile. Just choose your favourite place and get started.

There is no registration fee to take part in the virtual Mayday Mile, however we are asking everyone that takes on the Mayday Mile Challenge to raise funds via their fundraising page to bring us closer to saving every one we can.

Anyone who raises at least £125/€125 on their personal fundraising page will receive a Mayday Mile medal. Anyone who is part of a team, who’s fundraising team total is an average of at least £125/€125 per person will also receive a Mayday Mile medal.

Medals will be sent out in June when the challenge has been completed.

Once you sign up, your fundraising page will be automatically created, and all donations collected on your page will come directly to the RNLI. You can add your own profile picture and tell us why you’re taking on the Mayday Mile. You can then share your page with friends and family so they can donate to support you and the RNLI’s volunteer lifesavers.

If you receive any cash donations, you can bank them yourself and transfer the amount to your online fundraising page. Every contribution makes a real, lifesaving difference.

The money you raise will help our lifesavers to save every one they can, so we are asking everyone that takes on the Mayday Mile to try and raise at least £250/€250.

Yes, the amount shown on your online fundraising page includes Gift Aid.

You can track your distance and steps using several different apps, including Fitbit or Garmin.

Your profile page includes your personal distance tally so you can track your distance towards your target. This is a great way to keep your friends updated on your workouts!

If you track your workouts with Fitbit or Garmin your distances will automatically add to your tally.

Follow these steps to track your KMs automatically:

1. Download the Fitbit or Garmin app and set up your account

2. Log in to your RNLI Mayday Mile account.

3. Under the heading Connect your preferred Fitness app, click your chosen app.

4. Follow the prompts to connect your account

5. When you next work out, select start your workout in the app on your phone. Once you end your workout, save your workout and your distance will be published to the tally on your page the following day.

If you have synced your app already but it is not working, please log in and re-connect it.

• Fitbit: You must start an activity and save it. If no activity is logged, then your cumulative activity will sync at the end of the day. If you are having issues, try syncing through BOTH your Fitbit and the Fitbit app on your smartphone.
• Garmin: You must start your workout, stop your workout and then SAVE your workout.

Your tally will be updated each day with the previous day’s distances.

Manually adding activity

Remember, you can manually add your exercise to the tally in the My Fitness Activity tab within your logged in dashboard. This is a great option if you’re using a pedometer or a different method of tracking your distances.

Follow these steps to manually add your activity:

1. Log in to your account and select My Fitness Activity.

2. Under Add activity, enter the required fields. Depending on the challenge this may be steps, distance and/duration.

3. The logged activity will now appear on your fundraising page!

• Use the search bar in the top navigation to search for the team
• This will lead you to the 'sponsor' page and will show you all the results for that name
• Alternatively, you can go to the team tab on the sponsor page, and scroll through the teams
• Once you have found the team you want to join, click on the arrow to view that team page
• Then click the 'join us' button (next to the social share buttons)
• If you are logged in it will ask you to confirm the team you want to join
• If you aren't registered, it will send you down the registration flow and add you to that team

You must be aged 16 or older to register for the Mayday Mile Challenge. Under 16's are welcome to participate but they must be registered by someone over 16.

Absolutely. Fitbit and Garmin (mobile applications used to track your distance) can both record distances for wheelchair users.

Please email us at mayday@rnli.org.uk and one of the team will be able to help.