Other ex-addicts are drawn to competition for the exhilaration it offers. When Glen Caulkins, 53, of Dana Point, Calif., took up freestyle snowboarding four years after he kicked heroin, the intensity of his new sport felt familiar. Doing 60-foot aerial stunts was "the edge, and I was used to the edge," said Mr. Caulkins, the owner of Glenhaven Sober Living Homes, a drug-free residence in San Clemente, Calif. He went on to become a three-time national snowboarding champion. "It was a fix for about 10 years," said Mr. Caulkins, who now prefers inline skating and practicing yoga.

Besides stimulation, Mr. Caulkins said, snowboarding gave him something far more mundane, a new social identity. "It gave me a whole group of friends who didn't know my past," he said.

Exercise can also add structure to lives that once revolved around using. "When you're drinking four, five, six hours a day, that in itself is an activity," said Steve Vallender, 38, a recovering alcoholic and financial planner from Las Vegas who has set up a chapter of Racing for Recovery in his hometown. "I found myself with three, four hours of idle time every night and that's when I started working out."

Ex-addicts looking to reinvent themselves commonly look to the sport of triathlon, said Alan Ley, the coaching education manager for USA Triathlon. "We've got a lot of people in triathlon training who are trying to change old habits, whether they be related to drugs, alcohol or living a poor lifestyle," he said. "It's sort of like trading a negative addiction for a positive one."

Melissa Ellefson Huray, 33, a freelance writer and disc jockey in Duluth, Minn., sees her marathon training as a way to manage emotions, even if it can feel like a dependency. "I have a schedule and I do it six days a week," said Ms. Huray, who was walking on a treadmill at 8:30 p.m. as she took part in a telephone interview.

"I don't like to deviate from my schedule," she said. "If I didn't run, I don't think I would drink, but I might be on anxiety drugs or drugs for depression." She added: "I have to be vigilant. I can never let my guard down with drinking or running."

Training consistently offers recovering addicts a way to regularly finish tasks. "There's a mentality of, 'Oh, someday I'll do it,' that alcohol perpetuates," said Heidi Stone, 34, a mortgage broker and recovering alcoholic living in Brooklyn. But through weight lifting three times a week, she not only has arms strong enough to do a military push-up, but also a sense of accomplishment.

And that, experts say, is crucial to an ex-addict's growth. "Whether it is a 5K or a marathon, the closure of accomplishment is powerful," Dr. Provet said.

Racking up Ironman finishes is a way for Mr. Crandell to feel good but also to send a message to other addicts that they, too, can start over. He added: "There's more to life than saying 'I'm powerless over alcohol' and 'I've got to come to support-group meetings.' "

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