The word diversity GETS USED A LOT THESE DAYS, especially in the outdoor community. You may have seen the latest media campaigns focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Actually, I’m sure you’ve seen them—diversity is sexy, trendy, and the IN thing in the outdoors. If you don’t have a person of color represented at the forefront of your ad campaigns, social …
The summer after I turned 8, my parents sent me to sleepaway camp in a small town in upstate New York. It was one of those camps that provided an opportunity for low-income and working-class children of New York City to escape our urban environment and live in the country for a few weeks. For most of us, our experience …
I was in the second stage of the TransRockies Run, heading up to Hope Pass on the Sheep Gulch Trail, when I heard faraway rumbles of thunder. I should say “we”—I was with the sweeps, whose job was to stay with the last runner in the race. They hurried me, though I felt like I could move no more quickly than …
There’s no better feeling than that moment during a run when everything just clicks—you’re in the zone, running at a speed that feels both light and powerful. You feel invincible, completely absorbed in your potential. And there’s no quicker way to lose that feeling than to compare yourself to others and let the nagging thoughts creep in: I’m not as …
Over the past 2 1/2 years, I have been on the receiving end of this question more than at any point in my life. It isn’t only because I’m a runner who does races where there are aid stations with rad volunteers and generous helpings of salt tablets. It isn’t because I’m a runner who has done a bunch of …
Mirna Valerio has finished 10 ultramarathons and nine marathons. She is sponsored by a handful of sports companies and wrote her first book this past fall about her journey as a plus-sized athlete.
“I’M GOOD IN my big body.” That’s what Mirna Valerio—ultramarathon runner, author, and educator—wants her naysayers to know. In 2017, her story went viral and Valerio was…
