208. What Ultramarathoner Veronique Bourbeau Teaches Us About Burnout

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In this first conversation of the burnout series, Julia speaks with Veronique Bourbeau, an ultramarathon runner whose life is built around pushing physical and mental limits. From record-breaking endurance races to multi-thousand-kilometre runs across countries, Veronique understands better than most what it means to reach the edge of exhaustion.

Yet her perspective on burnout may surprise you. Burnout, she explains, is rarely about simply pushing harder. In fact, the real danger often comes from refusing to acknowledge how we feel. Before the mind admits burnout, the body already knows. Learning to listen — physically and emotionally — becomes essential.

Veronique speaks candidly about the dark moments that appear during long runs and in life: the moments when doubt creeps in, when energy drops, and when continuing feels almost impossible. Instead of forcing herself forward, she focuses on the smallest next step — the next kilometre, the next breath, the next essential task.

The conversation also challenges the myth that strength means endless resilience. Veronique argues that acknowledging when you are not okay is often the first step out of burnout. Kindness to oneself, honesty about energy levels, and the courage to slow down can be far more powerful than relentless pressure to perform.

This episode is a reminder that burnout is not a personal failure. It is a signal — one that asks us to listen more closely to our bodies, our energy, and our deeper purpose.

About the Guest:

Veronique Bourbeau

Veronique Bourbeau is a record-breaking ultramarathoner, author of Fearless: One Woman’s Transformational Journey from a Treadmill to Running the African Continent, and the Founder and CEO of Run4Humanity, a non-profit organisation.

A global speaker with a Master’s in Public Administration, Veronique has dedicated her life to initiatives that move far beyond short-term aid. Her work focuses on empowering communities and helping break the cycle of poverty through access to clean water.

Veronique is currently preparing for an extraordinary challenge — becoming the first woman to run the length of Africa from Alexandria to Cape Town, a 14,000 km journey aimed at helping ensure water accessibility for millions and driving long-term change for communities across the continent.

About the Host

Julia Middleton

Julia Middleton is the host of the Women Emerging podcast and a best-selling author of “If that’s leading, I’m in” as well as two previous books: “Leading beyond Authority” and “Cultural Intelligence”. She is deeply committed to helping people from all backgrounds to find their own approach to leading. In 2020, Julia launched Women Emerging and in 2022 she lead an expedition of 24 women to find ‘an approach to leading that resonates with women’. She now leads expeditions with women all over the world based on 4Es methodology, discovered in the first expedition.

Prior to that, Julia was founder and, for over thirty years, Chief Executive of Common Purpose, which grew to become one of the biggest leadership development organisations in the world.
Julia is also an Ambassador for the Aurora Prize based in Armenia, on the boards of Alfanar Venture Philanthropy in the Arab World and Equality Now, which operates globally, and on the Advisory Councils of Fundacao Dom Cabral in Brazil and Synapse in Pakistan. Born in London and brought up in New York, Julia was educated at French Lycées and graduated from the London School of Economics. She is married, with five children and lots of grandchildren.