{"id":14572,"date":"2017-05-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-05-05T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=14572"},"modified":"2023-06-19T13:00:53","modified_gmt":"2023-06-19T20:00:53","slug":"the-ultrarunner-look","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/run\/the-ultrarunner-look","title":{"rendered":"The Ultrarunner Look"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mirna Valerio couldn’t care less what anyone thinks a runner\u2019s body “should” look like. She\u2019s far more interested in using hers to grind through miles, launch across finish lines, and bust through stereotypes.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the world of long distance running, Mirna Valerio is an unlikely candidate for superstardom. She isn\u2019t terribly fast and hasn\u2019t notched any records of note.\u00a0But she is an ultrarunner through and through. The Georgia-based athlete\u2014”The Mirnavator” to her rapidly expanding fanbase\u2014maintains a blog called Fat Girl Running<\/a> and has built her reputation on an enthusiastic wave of unstoppable body positivity. \u201cI\u2019m just like, \u2018Here\u2019s my body. I\u2019m going to do what I like to do, which is running outside in the woods,\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t give a fuck what anybody else has to say about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Photo courtesy of Mirna Valerio<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Valerio grew up in Brooklyn, an \u201880s latchkey kid who spent summers kicking around outside with her little sister and cousins, exploring the city\u2019s parks and pools while her parents worked. She wasn\u2019t particularly athletic, although that changed during her teenage years in boarding school. Valerio wanted to squeeze the most out of the experience, so she and a friend scouted out the various sports teams. They decided against soccer after learning that the squad was required to run 10 laps to begin their practice\u2014but saw something promising across the way. \u201cWe peeked over at the field hockey field and they were hanging out, just chilling with their sticks,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thinking they’d discovered a relatively mellow option, the girls wandered over, were offered mouth guards and sticks, and to their surprise were put to work running a few laps that led to a timed mile, part of what became a grueling two-and-a-half hour practice. \u201cIt was my first time ever doing a continuous mile like that,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd it was really difficult. I mean, we were doing sprints, we were doing suicides, all in the first day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cThat one day planted a seed for the rest of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

But something clicked. Valerio found her teammates encouraging and decided to stick with field hockey (and eventually picked up lacrosse, as well). She began a morning running routine to build stamina. \u201cThat\u2019s how I started running and that\u2019s how I became an athlete,\u201d she explains. \u201cThat one day planted a seed, I guess, for the rest of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Positive reinforcement from those high school teammates spilled over into her college years, where Valerio maintained her fitness through running, cycling, and swimming. \u201cI did whatever just to keep my body moving. I knew that ultimately, that was healthy for me,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was never about weight or anything like that.\u201d She joined the corporate world for a brief while, began running road races, and maintained an active lifestyle while pregnant with her son Rashid, who was born in 2003.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“You need to lose weight or you\u2019re going to die.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Things changed when Valerio moved to Maryland for a high-stress job. Her activity level plummeted, her weight rose, and a serious health scare soon followed. \u201cI was in the cardiologist\u2019s office, and he\u2019s like, \u2018You need to lose weight or you\u2019re going to die,\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cAnd that was the moment I said, \u2018I get it, I\u2019m not taking care of myself.\u2019 I don\u2019t have a problem with my body aesthetically, but if it\u2019s not working health-wise, then I need to do something about it. And that\u2019s when I started running again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uninspired by the treadmill, Valerio needed a goal to help ease herself back into a routine, so she signed up for a 5K. After four years away from the sport, she clocked in around 47 minutes, a \u201chorrible\u201d time compared to her previous best. After committing to improvement, she ramped up her training for a 10K, then set her sights on a half-marathon. Her accomplishments piled up in short time, and a colleague suggested she consider a full marathon. Valerio initially bristled, but after some convincing signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon. \u201cThat was the gateway drug,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyone who\u2019s raced knows the subsequent high and certain amnesia that occurs at some point after crossing the finish line. That wasn\u2019t so bad<\/em>. I could do that again<\/em>. Enamored with the training process and interested in continued self-improvement, Valerio felt she could best her time after that initial marathon, so she signed up for one on a trail. Afterward, race director Rick McNulty nudged her toward training for a 50K. She has since gone on to complete many more, along with a 100K.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McNulty\u2019s support is important. Valerio cites Rick and his wife Jen, alongside runners like Scott Jurek and Anita Ortiz, as key role models. Her first trail race was a 10-miler in their NJ Trail Series<\/a> during a time when she was already pushing her limits training for her first half-marathon. She arrived sleepless and ran on an empty stomach; after five miles, she called it quits. McNulty encouraged her to make another loop, promising to wait for as long as it took her to finish. She declined but made note of his kindness and of the special community he and Jen created with the series. Over the span of eight years, she continued to run their races, but also found a lasting friendship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cI said, this is not a weight loss blog, because there are tons of those out there. This is about running in my big body.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

While Rick McNulty clearly appreciates the efforts of everyone who challenges themselves on one of his courses, he also acknowledges that Valerio brings a unique presence and message to the running community. \u201cThe whole misconception that if you go out and do this or that, you\u2019re going to have this different body style\u2014I\u2019ve definitely become much more aware that for some people, it just doesn\u2019t happen,\u201d he says. \u201cI think that she is taking the notoriety that she has achieved over the last few years and trying to make it [easier] for predominantly women, and people of all sizes, to feel more comfortable in their own skin.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The acclaim McNulty mentions is the result of Valerio\u2019s hard work, vibrant personality, online presence, and a bit of good luck. While she was training for her first Marine Corps Marathon, she began posting on Facebook to satisfy friends\u2019 curiosity. After one suggested she start blogging about her experiences, Valerio set up Fat Girl Running. Her first post was in August 2011. \u201cI said, this is not a weight loss blog, because there are tons of those out there,\u201d she explains. \u201cThis is about running in my big body.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In March 2014, she channeled a mix of back pain and anger into an emotional post that struck a nerve. \u201cI went off! I was like, you know, when you say to a fat person who\u2019s running, \u2018Maybe you should be at the gym or something instead of running and ruining your knees,\u2019 I have something to say about that!\u201d She also laid into doctors who only saw her weight, instead of her actual fitness level. A barrage of positive comments ensued, and the piece made its way around running circles. The attention opened doors. Not only was Valerio offered a writing gig with trailandultrarunning.com, but journalists wanted to write about her<\/em>. First came the Wall Street Journal<\/em>, then Runner\u2019s World<\/em>, which featured a lengthy profile<\/a> in the August 2015 issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Valerio was proof that you didn\u2019t need to be thin to run, that fitness wasn\u2019t dictated by dress size.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat July is when everything changed,\u201d she says. Not only was she suddenly fielding more media requests (including one from NBC Nightly News<\/em>, which featured her in a segment), but more importantly, her story resonated with people who felt left out of traditional running narratives. To them, Valerio was proof that you didn\u2019t need to be thin to run, that fitness wasn\u2019t dictated by dress size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each media hit expanded her social media following<\/a>, and several brand ambassadorships followed. Nicole DeBoom, Founder and CEO of Skirt Sports, reached out to Valerio after noticing the press flurry. The brand was expanding their ambassador program and wanted to move past traditional sports marketing and its assumptions of thinness into a more organic model that focused on the reflections of everyday women who were out there getting it done. Valerio and her message of body positivity fit the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMirna is like an epicenter of community, warmth, and permission. It\u2019s like she just, by being who she is, helps give people permission to be who they are,\u201d says DeBoom. \u201cClearly, she\u2019s not your standard runner type, or standard athlete-looking body. What she does is open doors for people. The whole \u2018If she can do it, I can do it,\u2019 is a really positive thing. Instead of being frustrated with that perception of her, she embraces it, and that\u2019s the key right there for allowing other people to open their own doors to setting greater goals in their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Bodies and genetics, you sometimes can\u2019t control. But what you can control is what you do in that body.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Merrell also drafted Valerio for their ambassador program. Sue Harvey-Brown, the brand\u2019s director of sports and marketing, calls her a \u201cdaily motivator,\u201d someone who is able to inspire others by the simple act of sharing both her triumphs and her struggles. \u201cMirna comes around and she\u2019s so different than what you would expect an outdoor athlete and enthusiast to be. She\u2019s a strong female, she\u2019s African American, and she\u2019ll say it\u2014she\u2019s overweight,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd what I love is that people are now realizing that bodies and genetics, you sometimes can\u2019t control. But what you can control is what you do in that body. And that\u2019s what she embraces: This is the body that God gave me, and I\u2019m going to use it to the best of my ability, and I\u2019m going to let it do things that some people think I can\u2019t do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For her part, Valerio is up to the task. \u201cI’m a teacher… I\u2019m a mom\u2014my job is to be a role model for my son,\u201d she says. \u201cI do have some days of, I don\u2019t want to say \u2018body hatred,\u2019 but some days of body dissatisfaction. But in the long run, I know that what I\u2019m doing is a great thing. It\u2019s great for my body, it\u2019s great for other people to see me being successful\u2026 it\u2019s just an honor for me to have that sort of responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After leaving so many marks in the Mid-Atlantic dirt, Valerio now lives in tiny Rabun Gap, Georgia. She fell in love with the mountains, what she calls the \u201cmysterious, cool atmosphere,\u201d and the people, quickly joining a trail running community not dissimilar to the one she left behind up north, a consolation prize of sorts to her lifelong dream of living in the Adirondacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She accepted a job at the private Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School where she wears many hats, including one she created herself: Director of Equity and Inclusion. \u201cI\u2019d been doing the work, anyways, for the past eleven years without being paid for it, so I said, \u2018Well, if you want to keep me here in the South, in the mountains where there are no black people, then I need to do this work!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cI think people know deep down that the more inclusive you are, the better the world is.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Challenging exclusivity is par for the course for Valerio, whether she\u2019s running or not. \u201cI think people know deep down that the more inclusive you are, the better the world is in whatever respect you\u2019re talking about,\u201d she says. \u201cI think people are finally realizing that this is important for our world, and it’s important for us in terms of human progress.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this year, Valerio was featured in an episode of The CW\u2019s digital series The Challenge Within<\/em>, which documents the stories of a handful of Tough Mudder competitors. Her star is set to rise even further in October with the release of her first book, A Beautiful Work in Progress<\/em><\/a>. After being courted by not one, but two literary agents, she spent last summer hunched over her keyboard. While it took her away from the trails for a while, she embraced the opportunity to share her story. \u201cI\u2019m not winning anything, I\u2019m not podiuming, even in my age group\u2026 very frequently I come in close to last! But that\u2019s not what this is about. This is about the journey, and the training, and what I\u2019ve learned from each of the things that I do,\u201d she says. \u201cWhat I really wanted to achieve was to show that I could have these experiences, too, in my body\u2014I didn\u2019t have to be this super fit-looking, athletic-looking person.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“I have become a better human being.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the upcoming book release, Valerio has a full slate of races scheduled over the coming months. Her three biggest goals are to attempt her second 100K or her first 100-miler, compete in the World\u2019s Toughest Mudder, and complete the TransRockies Run, which she\u2019s been training for since January. On top of that, she rattles off a slew of other races: the Black Mountain Monster, the North Face Endurance Challenge marathon, the Catamount Ultra, and the Finger Lakes Fifties 50K. No doubt that as she continues to rack up miles, there will be more interviews, more articles, and more people finding hope in her message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There will always be those who see only her weight and not her accomplishments, but the haters are no match against The Mirnavator and her unstoppable spirit. \u201cI’ve gleaned a tremendous amount of self-learning from the experience. I have proven to myself what my body and mind are able to do despite perceived odds. I have done a fairly difficult thing that many aren’t willing to try. I have improved my physical, spiritual, and mental health by engaging in the activity and all it entails. And I have become a better human being,\u201d she says. \u201cThat, to me, is what success is.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mirna Valerio couldn’t care less what anyone thinks a runner\u2019s body “should” look like. She\u2019s far more interested in using hers to grind through miles, launch across finish lines, and bust through stereotypes. In the world of long distance running, Mirna Valerio is an unlikely candidate for superstardom. She isn\u2019t terribly fast and hasn\u2019t notched […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":17512,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[726,995,1376],"internal-tag":[1408,1682],"class_list":["post-14572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-run","tag-force-of-nature","tag-people","tag-running","internal-tag-apmigrate-trailrun-published","internal-tag-pre-redirect-running"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/run\/the-ultrarunner-look","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"The Ultrarunner Look","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/run\/the-ultrarunner-look","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/run\/the-ultrarunner-look"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/05\/MirnaValerio12-photo-by-Kim-Cook.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/05\/MirnaValerio12-photo-by-Kim-Cook.jpg?fit=1500%2C620"},"articleSection":"Run","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Beckindale"}],"creator":["Beckindale"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["force of nature","people","running"],"dateCreated":"2017-05-05T07:00:00Z","datePublished":"2017-05-05T07:00:00Z","dateModified":"2023-06-19T20:00:53Z"},"rendered":"