Episode #12: Marie “Lootie” Leautey: CFO to Running Around the World Record Holder

In this astonishing episode of Execs Who Run, we meet Marie “Lootie” Leautey, a former regional CFO turned world record–breaking ultrarunner. Marie didn’t grow up a runner. In fact, she was a 26-year-old smoker when a humiliating forest run changed everything. From that pivotal moment outside Athens, her life took an entirely new trajectory, setting her on a course that would eventually see her become the fastest woman to run around the world.

Lootie’s story is unlike anything you’ve heard. After a successful corporate career with global giants like Coca-Cola and Heineken, she pivoted into sports entrepreneurship and introduced mass participation triathlons to Greece in the midst of economic turmoil. The lessons she learned fighting bureaucracies and building trust from scratch would later become the foundation for planning her solo, self-supported global run.

Her journey wasn’t just physical. It was a living masterclass in strategic planning, resilience, and leadership. She pushed a 30-kilo stroller across the deserts of Australia, the Andes of South America, and the snow-laced highways of North America. COVID disrupted her plans just three months in, but instead of stopping, she rerouted and ran over 15,000 kilometers through Europe alone.

Lootie dives deep into how she used business methodology to structure her run, categorizing every risk, optimizing every detail, and responding to physical signals like a CEO manages a team. She completed the circumnavigation injury-free, embodying a model of longevity and self-awareness that challenges how we think about athleticism and endurance.

Whether you’re a runner, a leader, or someone seeking to embrace reinvention, Lootie’s story is a powerful reminder that the extraordinary is within reach if you’re willing to start.