Mississippi Wonder Woman will complete a 13-year journey at the Anchorage Mayor’s Marathon

Completing one of the races at the Anchorage Mayor’s Marathon on Saturday will likely represent a meaningful milestone in many participants’ fitness journey.

For Mississippi half-marathon runner Pamela Butts, it will be especially momentous. Butts has completed half-marathons in 49 states dressed as iconic female superhero Wonder Woman. When she crosses the finish line at the Delaney Park Strip on Saturday, she will complete her goal of running a costumed half-marathon in all 50 U.S. states — an endeavor launched more than a dozen years ago.

“I didn’t know that I would ever get here, but here I am,” she said.

Butts was first introduced to marathon running by a friend who underwent a dramatic transformation after seeking the services of a fitness company in their home state of Mississippi called Marathon Makeover.

“She went from a couch potato to (running a full) marathon in 10 months, and she loved it,” Butts said.

Her friend went from running full marathons to half-marathons and started a group that Butts eventually was coaxed into joining.

“I literally just shared it to support her in her efforts, but then once you go to your first race, you kind of get the bug,” she said. “This is such an exciting atmosphere and fun, and this is an excuse to stay in shape.”

Two years later, Butts and some other women in the group decided to run a half-marathon together in New Orleans right before Halloween in 2010.

“We decided we needed a costume, so we came up with the Wonder Woman costume because we felt like it was (fairly close to regular runners’ athletic gear),” Butts said. “One of the original Wonder Women was very picky about chafing and whatnot.”

Butts said the six of them had a great time running the race together. She generally does jog-walk intervals of about a minute of jogging and then 30 seconds of walking, and she uses an app on her phone called Intervals Pro to tell her when to pick up the pace or slow it down.

“It’s taken me this long, but now I’m about to do my 50th one, and I’ve worn the Wonder Woman outfit in everyone,” Butts said.

While she’s run every race since the first dressed as the star-spangled Amazonian hero from DC Comics, not every costume has been the same, and Saturday’s version will hold special significance.

“I’ll be wearing a black Wonder Woman shirt, which will be the first time I’ve worn it or anything outside of red or green,” Butts said. “This is the sunset of my racing career as Wonder Woman.”

She’s worn a green Wonder Woman costume twice before because the half-marathons she ran were during St. Patrick’s Day.

Her full regalia includes Wonder Woman socks, a skirt and a gold fanny pack that contains the signature lasso of truth that the fictional hero uses to prevent her adversaries from lying. She also sports a gold sun visor in lieu of a crown.

Alaska isn’t just the final state that she needs to complete the 50 — it’s also the only state she had yet to visit. She planned a whole two-week vacation around the race so that she could make the most of the trip with her family and close friends.

“I’m bringing my whole family here and we’ll do a cruise after,” Butts said. ”I’ll have my husband, my three grown children and my granddaughter. … I have two other friends who will be here and my two sisters, and my mom, who is 87 and came out on this trip to cheer me on.”

Embracing the persona

Butts didn’t grow up a big comic book or superhero fan, although the 56-year-old was a kid when the Wonder Woman television series aired from 1975 to 1979 featuring famous actress, singer and Miss World pageant winner Lynda Carter.

“I really don’t know that much about Wonder Woman except what I learned from the movies, but here I am embracing the concept of Wonder Woman,” she said.

The costume has made her a favorite at races with fans and even fellow runners cheering her on. She is usually near the back of the pack in most of her races, and says “it’s nice to have that encouragement along during the race route.”

“I don’t want to let the costume down so I’ll finish the race even if I’m in pain,” Butts said.

She also wears her Wonder Woman costume whenever she’s going on a daring adventure that calls for extra courage, such as a paragliding trip she took in West Yellowstone, Montana.

She plans on going ziplining at Icy Strait Point in Hoonah and will wear it then as well.

“As long as I’m flying, I’m wearing Wonder Woman,” Butts said.

When Butts set out on this quest, her original plan was to run her 50th race in the 50th state, which is Hawaii. But the Wonder Women group she ran with last year really wanted to go to the Aloha State.

“I thought, if y’all are ready to go to Hawaii, let’s get it done,” Butts said.

While the sun will set on Butts running half-marathons as Wonder Woman on Saturday afternoon, she still has every intention to stay active by running shorter races with some of her fellow Wonder Women who may need encouragement to race in other states.

“If they want me to go along, I’ll be happy to go there with them in another state, but I’ll probably sign up for a 5K or 10K,” she said. “I think my next quest might be to do the Appalachian Trail.”