BIPOC-OWNED: Mirna Valerio: The Mirnavator

Mirna Valerio is a native of Brooklyn, NY, a former educator/cross-country coach, ultramarathoner, cyclist, skier, DEI professional, and author of the memoir, A Beautiful Work in Progress. She began running in high school, recommitted to the sport after a health scare in 2008 and started her blog Fatgirlrunning—about her experiences as a plus-sized woman in a world of thinner endurance athletes— while training for her first marathon. Mirna’s athletic story has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Runner’s World, on NBC Nightly News, CNN, and in the viral documentary short, REI Presents The Mirnavator. Her writing has been featured in Women’s Running, Self, Outside, and Runner’s World. In 2018 she was chosen as a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, and  since then has appeared on the Kelly Clarkson Show, Access Daily, The Today Show, and Good Morning America. Her partners include LLBean, Ford Bronco, Darn Tough Vermont, lululemon, Salsa Cycles, Hydro Flask, and Garmin.  She currently lives and trains in Vermont with her son Rashid, and is wholeheartedly enamored and obsessed with downhill skiing.