A Beautiful Work In Progress

Runners’ vocabulary is full of acronyms like DNS for “Did Not Start” and DNF for “Did Not Finish,” but when Mirna Valerio stepped up to the starting line, she needed a new one: DNQ for “Did Not Quit.”

Valerio has tied on her running shoes all across the country, from the dusty back roads of central New Jersey to the busy Route 222 corridor in Pennsylvania to the sweltering deserts of Arizona. When you meet her on the trail, you might be surprised to see she doesn’t quite fit the typical image of a long-distance runner. She’s neither skinny nor white, and she’s here to show just how misguided these stereotypes can be.

In this prejudice-busting, body-positive memoir told with raw honesty, an adventurous spirit, and a sharp sense of humor, Valerio takes readers along on her journey from first-time racer to ultramarathoner and proves that anyone can become a successful athlete.

Mirna Valerio, a native of Brooklyn, New York, is a Spanish teacher, diversity practitioner, cross-country coach, ultrarunner, OCR enthusiast, and blogger. Valerio’s blogs about all things running appear at Fat Girl Running and in Women’s Running Magazine. Her story was featured in the Wall Street Journal and Runner’s World and on NBC Nightly News. Valerio is a global ambassador for Merrell, an ambassador for Skirt Sports, and an athlete for Swiftwick. She is married to Cito Nikiema, and together they have a basketball-loving teenage son, Rashid. She loves being in nature and frequently runs trails in the North Georgia mountains.