Lance Woods was born and raised on the west side of Detroit, Michigan and is a proud graduate of Northwestern High School. He went on to study at Tennessee State University earning a degree in Business Administration with concentration in E-Business & Supply Chain Management. After working in logistics for several years, his passion led him to return home and become a mentor and community leader in Detroit where his primary focus has been to motivate and inspire people to live healthier, happier, and more fulfilled lives. He has been able to do so by focusing on health & wellness and community development. Lance served as an educator in the Detroit Public School district for five years prior to Co-founding Detroit’s premier run club, WeRun313.
Lance began running in 2014 and could barely complete a mile. Since then, he has become a sub-elite marathoner completing three World Major Marathons (NYC, CHI, BOS) and ran a sub 3-hour marathon four times, with a fastest time of 2:47:15. For him running provides the spiritual space to break through barriers of doubt, which develops into mental toughness. He has the innate ability to connect and serve disadvantaged communities through story-telling, relationship building, and strategic action.
On May 4, 2019, the birth of WeRun313 happened attracting thousands of new faces and became the largest and fastest growing run club in the state. The run club has been featured in major media publications including NBC’s Today Show w/ Al Roker, Runner’s World Magazine, Huffington Post, The Detroit Free Press and The Michigan Chronicle. He has also been featured on every local radio and news channel in the city of Detroit including WJLB, Fox 2, CBS Detroit, WDIV Local 4, WXYZ Local 7 and more. In addition, he has received two Spirit of Detroit awards and Special Tribute from the State of Michigan for his efforts.
Lance is a committed member of several service organizations including Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated; Northwestern Alumni Association, Tennessee State University Alumni Association, Coleman A. Young Foundation, Black Male Engagement (BMe) and Dave Bing’s Youth Institute. Lance has received several awards for his civic engagement. He was honored by the President Obama administration at the White House along with 62 other men with the President’s Volunteer Community Service Award. He also received the Community Champion Award for displaying exceptional leadership and commitment to building a more caring and prosperous community in Detroit. He is a recipient of The Spirit of Detroit of award 2x and also a special tribute from the State of Michigan. He was inducted as a member of Ford’s Men of Courage Detroit- an organization that connects a diverse group of black men nationwide, who positively advances the narrative of black men. Most recently, he received an award for African-American Achievement from the International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit for outstanding contribution to the enrichment of community and more specifically African-American heritage.
