Running in Prison

A zealous runner himself, Josef Trojan set out to motivate the inmates of Esserheem prison to start running. “Running makes you happy and healthy,” he says. “So why not try that during the ‘airing hours’, instead of staying inside like a lot of prisoners do?” Josef came up with 70 different ways to trigger running – from handing out free shoes to organising trainings. The grand finale of his motivational campaign was painting a track in the courtyard with a plain message: left, right, left right. It took him 12 days to fill a 400-metre circuit with these words, showing that perseverance delivers results. The words will fade with the prisoners’ footsteps, but the mantra will keep resonating in their heads.