Wild
Utah
Tours
Retreat Leaders
Mirna Valerio
Ultra runner, author, motivational speaker, diversity trainer, body positivity influencer
Mirna Valerio is a native of Brooklyn, NY, a former educator, cross-country coach, ultrarunner, speaker, and author of the recently published memoir, A Beautiful Work in Progress. Although she began running in high school, she recommitted to the sport after a health scare in 2008. It was then that her love for running and all its attendant benefits were reignited. She soon started her blog Fatgirlrunning, about her experiences as a larger woman
in a world of thinner athletes.
Mirna's athletic story was featured in the WSJ, Runner’s World, on the NBC Nightly News, CNN, on the CW Network, and in the viral REI-produced documentary short, The Mirnavator. Her writing has been featured in Women’s Running Magazine, Self Magazine Online, Outside Online, and Runner's World Magazine. Mirna was also chosen as a 2018 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year and was featured in a NYTimes article on Body Positivity entitled, Five People Who Can Help You Love Your Body. She has also been a guest on several major podcasts, including the Rich Roll Podcast and most recently, the Strava Athletes Unfiltered Podcast.
Shanti Hodges
Hike it Baby Founder
and owner of Wild Utah Tours
Shanti Hodges is the founder of Hike it Baby, a nonprofit focused on getting families outside with birth to five year olds. She is also the owner of Wild Utah Tours, a guide business near Zion National Park
In Shanti's past she was a writer for magazines like Outside, Men's Journal, Marie Claire, REI blog and other well-known publications. She has written two books (Women Who Run and Hike it Baby: 100 Awesome Adventures with Babies and Toddlers.
She lives in Southern Utah with her husband Mark, 8-year-old Mason and their dog Sunny.