Hope Center’s running program helps addicts with another marathon: Getting clean.

It’s 90 degrees at 6 p.m. on the Legacy Trail under a clear and blazing sun. But six men who live across the street at the Hope Center still stretch their calves as they prepare to run 3.1 miles in 24 minutes. Eight minute miles are a pretty spanking for a group of new runners who are also trying to kick drugs and alcohol.

“This fell right into place for me,” explained one of the runners named Jimmy Floyd. He’s from Glasgow, he’s on his second stint at the Hope Center. He’s 39, he says he’s been addicted to drugs and alcohol since high school, but this time he’s going to get it right. The running helps. “It helps me stay in my head and be more positive.”

Sherrod Sheppard didn’t have such an easy start as Floyd.

“It was hard in the beginning,” he said. “But it’s turned into a positive option for something to do when I’m bored and restless.”

The men are part of A Running Start, a local non-profit that has worked with folks from the Fayette County Drug Court, Lighthouse Ministries, the Hope Center and Chrysalis House to buy running shoes and pay for entry fees. Realtor Liz Hodge and a friend started it about five years ago after she heard about a national group that had used running to help with substance abuse disorders.

Now Running does 10-12 week training programs, getting Hope Center residents ready for either half-marathons (13.1 miles) or 5Ks (3.1 miles). The graduates come back and run as peer mentors with the new groups, Hodge said.

This group is training for Running Start’s main fundraiser, a 5K race that will be held Saturday at Coldstream Research Park. They’ve already run the Midsummer’s Night Run together.

“There’s a lot of science behind it now,” Hodge said. An avid runner herself, she tries to get out most Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays when the group trains on the Legacy Trail. “If I can run a mile with someone and help them, I’ve done something pretty wonderful,” she said.

Runners, who have long talked about a “high” they get from hard exercise, are now finding their beliefs backed up by science, and in substance abuse circles as well. The aerobic exercise that releases endorphins and dopamine gives the same kind of pleasurable burst that drugs or alcohol might. New studies have found that exercise might also help prevent addiction as well as aiding in recovery. For all the reasons that sobriety is a complicated puzzle, exercise may be one piece towards it.

Carrie Thayer, the Hope Center director of development said the Running Start program, like anger management or home budgeting, is “yet another tool to use to stay in recovery.

“You can see they feel better, and it’s another sense of community for them, which is so important because they’re trying to rebuild their friendships and social networks,” Thayer said.

The current Hope Center group is coached by Joseph Waite, who is in long-time recovery. He’s been running for 11 years and is now training for a marathon.

“It’s something I do for myself,” Waite said. “For me, you get out doing something like this, it just feels great.”

For Jimmy York, it’s been its own kind of marathon to get clean. He was sent to the Hope Center from his home town in Glasgow, but after a few months, he went back home.

“I didn’t listen and I went home, got back into the same habits and went out,” he said. “Now I know it’s best to take suggestions.”

This time around, he’s been here six months, and after he’s finished the program, he’s going to stay in Lexington, where he has the right kind of support, including his running group.

“This place and this group has provided me a way back to society,” he said.

The Running Start 5K will be held on Sept. 7 at 6:30 p.m. at Coldstream Research Park. For more information, go to https://runsignup.com/Race/KY/Lexington/ARunningStart5K.

Linda Blackford writes columns and commentary for the Herald-Leader.

This story was originally published September 4, 2019 at 2:18 PM.