LEXINGTON, Ky. (FOX 56) — People of all ages laced up their running shoes this morning for DV8 Kitchen’s 5th life-changing run. It’s a day dedicated to second chances, something the restaurant knows all too well.

DV8 Kitchen offers second chances at employment to people in early recovery from alcohol or drug addiction. Their goal is to serve life-changing food, have a social impact, have a higher purpose, and have a sustainable business, and all of the proceeds will help fund a new generation of those who need help.

From the second the opening gun went off, runners fought through the August heat for the opportunity to raise money for those in need of a second chance at life. One of those runners, Amy Sulfridge, said this is not the first time she and her husband have run the race, but they couldn’t pass up the chance to help a good cause.

“I just think that the cause it supports, everyone has been influenced by that; they know someone or they’ve heard of someone. So, it touches everybody’s family; I think anything like that you’re supporting has someone that you know who can benefit from it,” said runner Amy Sulfridge.

Amy’s husband Olen said, “I think it’s the right thing to do; I think you’ve got to pay things forward and give people an opportunity, and I think at the very least we can do it and come out and support this because the organization, what I know of it, does really good stuff; you know, they give people a chance who may not have gotten it somewhere else, and that’s why we drove from Corbin up here; we want to do our part.”

Proceeds from the DV8K run will be used to fund DV8’s educational program that supports second-chance employees in removing barriers, practicing recovery at work, and developing a career path.

“So, what we found is that people in recovery don’t need you to lower your standards as an employer for them. You could even raise it; I mean, we strive for 20% better in everything that we do,” said Rob Perez with DV8 Kitchen. “It can be done. People in recovery can thrive and just completely blow away expectations. “

Some runners run for fun or health, but today was all about running to change a life.

“I mean, it’s a community initiative, right, and it’s all about bettering the community, and what they’re doing is impactful and will help better our community,” said runner Kathryn Partin.

Perez says there’s no greater feeling than watching the employees they help move on to bigger and better things.

“There’s nothing better to watch men and women that we’ve worked with thrive even after they left DV8 to see them be with their families, to be with their children, having flourishing life, that is free from burden,” Perez said.

Out of the 500 runners that participated, the overall top 3 winners in each race were awarded with a dv8 hat, gift card and water bottle.

A total of $70,000 was raised from the race, including sponsorship.