Mirna Valerio, a native of Brooklyn, New York, is a Spanish teacher, diversity director, cross-country coach, ultrarunner, OCR enthusiast, and blogger.

Mirna blogs about all things running appear at Fat Girl Running and in Women’s Running Magazine. Mirna’s athletic story was featured in the Wall Street Journal, Runner’s World, on the NBC Nightly News, CNN, and on the CW
Network. She 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.

Here are three ways in which she practices Self-love:

1. I spend the bulk of my free time outdoors: training for races, running, hiking, backpacking. Whatever I can do to stay outdoors, I do!

2. I take lots of photos of myself doing the things I love. When we see ourselves represented the way we want to see ourselves represented, it becomes more of a reality. Also, looking at and admiring images of yourself is a great exercise in self-acceptance.

3. The third thing, is that I meditate. I do a form of meditation called Yoga Nidra. Being in touch with my body on all levels–physical, emotional, and spiritual is very important to me.