A Beautiful Work In Progress

Description

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.

"[Valerio's] memoir, A Beautiful Work in Progress, tells the story of her journey to running ultramarathons...But as she listens to fan after fan and signs book after book with care for every word she writes...it's clear [her] passion for running goes beyond just feeling good or staying healthy for herself. It's a love she wants to pass on to others." -Daily Mail "For the Brooklyn native, distance running is part wellness practice and part pursuit of happiness...It's a lifestyle she's made her own..." -Elle Magazine "A Beautiful Work in Progress, which details Mirna Valerio's journey to becoming a long-distance runner,...[is] her attempt, she said, to frame her own fitness story." -Atlanta Journal-Constitution "Mirna is truly a She's It woman. She is dedicated to promoting the idea that 'Everybody is Different and Every Body is Different.' A Beautiful Work in Progress tells Mirna's story, from her youth in Brooklyn to her marriage to her adventures in running, starting and ending with the Javelina Jundred, a 100-mile trail run." -She's It "In A Beautiful Work in Progress, Valerio goes deeper into her journey from being a first-time racer to the endurance runner she is today. 'I wanted this book to be a celebration of running and my own body...'" -Brit + Co. "Although her story speaks to anyone who's ever felt discouraged from running (every runner ever, really), it also speaks to a more specific group-African Americans who have felt uncomfortable and even fearful entering the woods..." -Blue Ridge Outdoors "A stereotype-busting jaunt through the author's journey as an unlikely ultrarunner." -Outside Magazine