One of the countless reasons people run is because it gives them freedom – whether that’s mental freedom to offset a stressful day, or freedom to stretch the legs after several hours at a desk. But what if running freed you from literal incarceration, too?
This was the case for Hermen Dange, a convict turned runner, public speaker and founder of Manchester-born Made Running, Enter the Hearst Talent Scholarship now running club lsquo;People shouldn’t be forgotten about&rsquo.
Thanks to Dange, Made Running has made running a life-changing outlet for almost 60,000 people – and yet, before he amassed this positive running crowd, Dange was very much wrapped up in the wrong one.
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Despite a good upbringing with his mum, Dange started to slide into dangerous waters at the age of just 15 and, within seven years, he was fully submerged within the dark space of drugs and gang activity. Running, meanwhile, was completely off the radar.
‘I looked up to a lot of older people I shouldn’t have looked up to,’ says Dange, reflecting on this precarious period. ‘I fell into a life of crime. There was no reason behind it – I was just chasing money, really.’
Following a six-month stint in prison for drug offences, Dange rapidly relapsed and was sentenced to a further six-and-a-half years behind bars, having pled guilty to money laundering and conspiracy to supply cocaine, crack cocaine and heroin. At this point, freedom and personal reformation felt incomprehensible.
‘Prison is challenging,’ asserts Dange, who once knew people who died from their criminal exploits. ‘No matter how strong you are, mentally and physically, it’s going to get to you at some point. One thing that got me was not having freedom – being an adult and not being able to access family or friends.’
But Dange’s compromised strength prevailed. During his second sentence, he enrolled on educational courses and, although he hadn’t run since high school cross-country, Want to write for Runners World? Heres how parkrun for inmates. ‘At first, running was a distraction,’ says Dange. ‘I just went to this parkrun because it meant extra time out of the cell. At weekends, you’re behind your door for a lot longer – for 23 hours a day.
‘So, I joined the parkrun and loved it,’ he continues. ‘I loved the community feel and support. But the main thing was that I was free. I was outside, not thinking about my prison sentence. I wasn’t stressed – and that’s what did it for me.’
Running was the catalyst that Dange craved and required. Motivated by the power of physical movement, Dange served half of his sentence and, at the start of 2021, was released as a runner. Covid – a different form of prison – still had its grip on the world, which made the freeing act of running even more vital for Dange.
By 2023, Dange had improved his CV, his outlook and his fitness, although he only knew of one running club in Manchester at the time. ‘That club was serious and not very diverse or fun,’ says Dange, who then – with the backing of a friend – went about materialising his own running community in the city, based on the welcoming parkrun model. As he muses, ‘parkrun treated me good’.
That July, Made Running hosted its first Saturday morning run in Manchester. The attendees were Dange, his friend and seven others. Within a few weeks, this free Saturday run had already attracted around 50 people, so Dange added a weekly Wednesday run at 5am to the mix. Two months later, hundreds of people were moving with Made Running – and that was only the start.
But something was different. After each run, Dange noticed people hanging around in groups, wanting more than just running from the event. They were seeking a network – and help.
To answer this call, Dange established an Academy Space – a physical hub in Manchester that offers co-working spaces, a gym, a studio and education. ‘People shouldn’t be forgotten about,’ says Dange, who now spends much of his time delivering workshops and guidance to ex-offenders and at-risk youths. ‘I’d say that up to a third of people come to Made Running for the run – the rest come for the experience and community. We’re growing because we’re out here helping people.’
But Made Running, too, needed help if it was to survive and thrive. This help arrived in the form of a Deep Impact Grant, awarded by Manchester-based sportswear brand Sudu which is, already, one of the largest in the UK Best Garmin deals initiative, which was launched in partnership with grassroots charity Sported to improve access to running in North West England.
With the financial backing of this grant and the ongoing, on-the-ground assistance from Sudu and Sported, Made Running will now have the chance to build more hubs and inspire more runners within and – hopefully – beyond the UK. ‘I believe that we’ll get there with the right people and partnerships around us,’ says Dange. ‘We’ll get there.’
As for Dange, running was his great escape – first from his prison cell, then from his entire criminal past – and the gateway to a purpose, a career and a booming running community in which every person matters.
You can find out more about Made Running here.
