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After one particular race I saw two photos taken split-seconds a part. In one I looked strong, healthy, happy and confident and in the other I looked miserable.

(MORE: Mom loses 185 pounds after realizing she was not in any family photos)

Did I look like the strong woman or the miserable woman? And that’s when it struck me -- I wasn’t miserable in either photo despite what it may have looked like. I was happy the entire race. The camera had just caught me at what I didn’t feel was a flattering moment.

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A post shared by Dorothy Beal • I Run This Body (@mileposts) on Mar 9, 2019 at 7:39am PST

I have wasted so much of my life disliking myself for one reason or another. One day I had finally had enough and decided that I wasn’t going to waste another moment worrying about how I looked when I run because that’s not why I run anyways.

(MORE: Woman born with 1 arm does intense workouts that are pure inspiration)

I run to feel alive. I run because it makes me feel strong. I run because it brings me joy. Sure, sometimes there are photos taken of me that don’t reflect how I feel in the moment. But that’s OK.

I knew I couldn’t be alone in how I felt, so when I see two photos taken a moment apart that look drastically different, I post them.

I don’t want women who follow me on Instagram to look at my photos and have my photos make them in any way feel badly about themselves. I want them to see my photos and think, \"Wow, she is owning her body. I should too.\"

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A post shared by Dorothy Beal • I Run This Body (@mileposts) on Dec 21, 2018 at 3:05pm PST

It’s an empowering feeling to love a photo no matter what you think you look like. When you feel empowered, you pass that feeling on to other women, who then feel empowered and the cycle keeps going.

For every one person I help, that one person will also go on to help someone else because they too are embracing themselves and not focusing on what society has made us believe are flaws. Do I post photos I like of myself, of course, who doesn’t, but I’m also going to continue to post photos I don’t care for. I think it’s important to help spread the message that Instagram is just a highly curated collection of photos.

The response [from my posts] has been overwhelming. Many of the direct messages I have received from women have brought me to tears.

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She smiles when she runs because running is pure magic ? #irunthisbody #ihavearunnersbody #wmmajors #tokyomarathon

A post shared by Dorothy Beal • I Run This Body (@mileposts) on Mar 8, 2019 at 6:36pm PST

At the end of the day, I hope that by sharing my vulnerable moments and thoughts I am making a difference and that my children and family are proud of me for helping to change the way we view our perceived flaws.

Photos are a split second in time, nothing more, nothing less. They should never take joy away from our lives.

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