The mothers, the millennials, and the mavens. Changing our communities.
This is our seventh annual unveiling of 50 amazing women who are raising the bar in their communities, serving as beacons of light in their industries, and forcing change for the greater good. Meet this West Virginia Wonder Woman, Missy Burleson, and many more that are creating a better West Virginia with their can-do attitudes and Mountain State spirit.
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Running for Summer
Missy Burleson has been running regularly since 2012.
She isn’t sure what led her to sign up for her first race, but she made sure it was not in Beckley; she didn’t want anyone she knew to see her running. But after that first race, she was hooked, and something happened to increase her confidence. She joined the Facebook group “I Run 4,” which matches runners with those who can’t run. Burleson was paired with Summer, a girl who has Down Syndrome. Ever since, she has dedicated all of her runs to Summer and to raising awareness about Down Syndrome.
Burleson runs at least a mile a day. Her first running streak lasted 867 days; her current streak is nearly double. But it isn’t as easy as Burleson makes it look. She has palindromic rheumatism, a form of inflammatory arthritis that, at times, causes her joints to swell.
“Sometimes, I can’t get a shoe on my foot,” she says. “I’ll run barefoot, because I promised
Summer I would run every day. If she can overcome her obstacles, what excuse do I have?”
Burleson helps others overcome their obstacles, too, as the Beckley Community Captain
of Active Southern West Virginia, a nonprofit that empowers individuals to lead healthy and active lifestyles. She is also a certified coach with Road Runners Club of America, where she is a mentor for beginning runners. Her motto? “Just keep swimming”—er, running.
Click here to read about our other 2020 West Virginia Wonder Women
Click here for tickets to the 2020 West Virginia Wonder Women TALKS event
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