Melissa Londry is the founder and race director of SWVA Running, an avid runner, Lydiard Level II Running Coach, and longtime advocate for building stronger, more inclusive communities.

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Melissa began running in 2013 and has since completed distances from the 5K to 240 miles, along with 200-mile relay events. Her connection to race directing grew from her own experience as a runner and her love for Southwest Virginia. After learning that the New River Trail Races (home to one of her own first ultrarunning experiences) would no longer continue, she stepped in to bring the event back in 2023. What began with one race has grown into SWVA Running and a collection of events showcasing the trails, communities, and landscapes of the region.

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Outside of running, Melissa is a Licensed Professional Counselor, business owner, author, and mother of two. Her background in mental health influences how she approaches leadership and race directing, with an emphasis on safety, belonging, accessibility, and the understanding that the people who arrive at a starting line are more important than their finish times.

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She believes running can, and should, challenge you. But she also believes you shouldn’t have to prove that you’re fast enough, experienced enough, or accomplished enough to belong.

Peter DeReus is an ultrarunner, physician, father, and race director whose vision helped bring trail racing to Wythe County.

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For years, Peter dreamed of hosting a trail race at Crystal Springs Recreation Area and introducing more runners to the trails and outdoor recreation opportunities surrounding Wytheville. That dream became the Crystal Springs Trail Races, created in partnership with the Town of Wytheville and alongside SWVA Running founder Melissa Londry. The inaugural event even took place on Peter’s birthday...a fitting way to celebrate a project that had been years in the making.

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As a race director, Peter’s goal extends beyond creating a challenging day on the trails. He hopes to grow the trail-running community in the region while giving runners and their families a reason to discover Wytheville, Wythe County, and everything the surrounding area has to offer.

Peter lives in Wythe County with his wife and children. When he isn’t on the trails or helping bring Crystal Springs to life, he serves Southwest Virginia as an accomplished physician.

Alyx Barnett is a lifelong runner, ultrarunner, race director, mother, wife, and community health advocate who brings decades of endurance experience, and a deep belief in the power of community, to SWVA Running.

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Alyx has been a distance runner for more than 30 years, beginning as a high school and Division I athlete before eventually finding her way into ultrarunning. While living on the Big Island of Hawai‘i, she founded Hawai‘i Mountain Running, building a running community that offered free weekly group runs and six annual races ranging from 5K to 260 miles. That experience gave Alyx a unique perspective on what makes an endurance event meaningful: challenging courses matter, but so do the relationships, volunteers, communities, and sense of belonging built around them.

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Now living in Damascus, Virginia, Alyx serves as a race director with SWVA Running, helping develop and direct events throughout Southwest Virginia, including the Woodbooger 100 and Grand Canyon of the South Ultras. Her work extends well beyond race-day logistics; she is often the person encouraging a runner to take the next step, helping solve a problem at an aid station, supporting volunteers, or finding another way to strengthen the community surrounding the sport.

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Outside of race directing, Alyx is a naturopathic doctor, birthkeeper, health and nutrition consultant, and nonprofit leader whose professional work centers on individual, family, and community wellness.

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Whether she is running through the mountains herself or helping someone else discover what they are capable of, Alyx approaches the sport with the same philosophy she brings to SWVA Running: create opportunities for people to challenge themselves, care for the community around them, and make sure people know they belong along the way.

Buddy and Sean Albro are runners, race directors, community advocates, and those kind of people who is always looking for a way to help make the world better.

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As the founders of Run Damascus, Buddy and Sean has spent years creating running opportunities and supporting the running community in and around Damascus, Virginia. His events include the Trail Days 5K, held in conjunction with the town’s annual Appalachian Trail Days celebration and run along the Virginia Creeper Trail.

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Buddy, Sean, and Melissa co-created the Damascus Festival of Miles, bringing together their shared vision of an event that was about more than logging miles. Together, they developed a race built around running, live music, camping, local businesses, and community...turning Damascus Town Park into a place where runners and their families could spend an entire weekend together.

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But Buddy and Sean’s impact on SWVA Running extends far beyond one race. They have become a steadfast supporter of events throughout the SWVA Running family, regularly supplying equipment and materials, sharing resources and race-directing experience, offering encouragement, and stepping in wherever he can help. If something is needed for a race, there’s a good chance Buddy & Sean either have it, knows where to find it, or is already figuring out how to make it happen.

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Their commitment to community reaches beyond running as well. Sean previously served on the Damascus Town Council. Buddy currently serves on the Damascus Town Council and chairs the town’s Parks & Recreation and Trail Days Committee, continuing his work to strengthen the community he calls home. 

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For Buddy and Sean, running and race directing are ultimately about people. Their generosity, encouragement, and willingness to show up embody the kind of community SWVA Running hopes to build across Southwest Virginia: one where success isn’t measured only by the miles we run, but by how we show up for one another along the way.