{"id":169376512,"date":"2025-07-27T14:57:33","date_gmt":"2025-07-27T14:57:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writetosuccess.net\/ishmael-burdeau-ultra-athletics-autism\/"},"modified":"2025-07-27T14:57:33","modified_gmt":"2025-07-27T14:57:33","slug":"ishmael-burdeau-ultra-athletics-autism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writetosuccess.net\/de\/ishmael-burdeau-ultra-athletics-autism\/","title":{"rendered":"Ishmael Burdeau: Ultra-athletics & autism"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mind-body integration, one step at a time<\/h2>
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In the past weeks, I\u2019ve been writing about the role of safety, agency and integration<\/strong> in supporting neurodiverse, gifted and twice-exceptional learners.<\/p>

Integration, in this framework, refers to an individual\u2019s self-integration in terms of proprioception and emotional regulation, as well as integration into social settings.<\/p>

This week, I am delighted to share an interview with Ishmael Burdeau<\/strong>, an ultra-runner, former competitive cyclist and late-diagnosed autistic \u2014 focusing on how endurance sports can support individual and community integration.<\/p>

Burdeau, a software engineer by trade who considers himself an \u201cathlete first,\u201d lives and trains in England\u2019s Peak District. He alighted there after a peripatetic childhood and youth which took him to Alaska, Hawai\u2019i, Oregon (we missed each other in Eugene by a few years), Colorado, Florida and Europe. <\/p>

Long-distance cycling and running helped Burdeau create the sense of safety and agency missing from his \u201cunorthodox\u201d upbringing and find spaces where he could integrate and thrive.<\/p>

What is your background?<\/strong><\/p>

My mother died when I was eight; my dad kept traveling. He was into hitchhiking [with three young children] \u2013 it was crazy then; it sounds more crazy now.<\/p>

[My brothers and I] hated it. So when we were hitchhiking through Europe and saw a family cycling, we convinced my dad to get bikes. Our first trip was across Canada and New England \u2013 a couple of thousand miles maybe. That\u2019s how I got into long-distance cycling.<\/p><\/blockquote>

When and how did you discover your autism?<\/strong><\/p>

Four years ago. As a kid, I never fit in, never had a group. In the 90s, I got curious [about Asperger\u2019s] but I thought\u2026 I\u2019m not a real autistic person.<\/p>

Then, during Covid, I realized, I never really had friends, I don\u2019t like social situations, working from home suits me 100%. I\u2019ve always struggled with anxiety and depression. The thing that made sense was autism.<\/p>

I had been turned off by the \u201cmale brain\u201d [theory of autism]. I didn\u2019t feel I had a \u201cmale brain,\u201d which led me to ignore some of the other traits \u2013 social awkwardness, special interests, oversharing. I realized there was more to autism than collecting trains and doing pi to a load of digits.<\/p><\/blockquote>

How did it feel to be diagnosed?<\/strong><\/p>

I thought it would help me understand myself. My whole life has been \u2013 not wrong<\/em>, but there were things I could have done differently.<\/p>

There is a common pattern [with diagnosis] of an initial high of, \u201coh, this is what\u2019s wrong with me!\u201d Then years of ruminating and not getting the support you want.<\/p><\/blockquote>

Has the diagnosis given you what you needed?<\/strong><\/p>

I wouldn\u2019t be having this conversation with you if it hadn\u2019t. As a white, middle-aged man, I have a lot of privilege, so I\u2019m trying to be more open. I don\u2019t want people who are going through the things I did growing up to feel like I did.<\/p><\/blockquote>

What did you feel like as a child?<\/strong><\/p>

I was the kid in the library, reading, doing Lego. I didn\u2019t have a sense of my physical body \u2013 I was a brain person.<\/p><\/blockquote>

How did you become an endurance athlete, then?<\/strong><\/p>

I got a racing bike and so enjoyed going out for two, three, four hours on my own. I\u2019ve always liked things that were different. I\u2019ve never been driven to beat people, or for my team to win; I like pushing myself, testing my physical and mental limits. That\u2019s what drew me to cycling.<\/p>

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