The first woman to run the London Marathon topless is feeling “all fired up and excited” to run it again this weekend.
Louise Butcher, 51, last ran ran the 26.2 mile route on April 21, 2024 — two years after undergoing a double mastectomy for lobular breast cancer.
On Nov. 3 last year, she was one of 250 women to take part in a topless swim, for the Royal Devon Hospitals Charity.
Louise is currently undergoing a running tour of the UK, covering cities like Bath, Cardiff, Devon, London, and The Great North Run in Newcastle.
She will now be embarking on the London Marathon this weekend, raising money for the Breast Cancer Now charity.
Louise, a charity worker, from Braunton, Devon, said: “This will be my fifth marathon in total, and I’ve only been running marathons for two-and-a-half years now.
“I’m proud of myself and proud of everyone else who has jumped on board to make topless running more normal and something that people can connect with.
“I feel great and really strong at the moment.
“I haven’t had any injuries, and I’ve been doing strength training for the last three months.
“It is totally about looking after your body, making sure you’re not doing too much: it is not just about going running.
“The power is in the healing.”
In April 2022, Louise was diagnosed with lobular breast cancer, after receiving an ultrasound on her left breast.
The tissue was thickened, and during her first single mastectomy in June 2022, her surgeon discovered a 5 centimeter tumor close to her chest wall.
She had her second single mastectomy, to remover her right breast tissue, in August 2022.
Despite feeling the “pressure” to get reconstructive surgery, Louise opted not to go for it — and says she wanted to fight against social norms, and feel comfortable in her own skin.
She received five rounds of intensive radiotherapy — and ran her first, virtual London Marathon five after finishing treatment, on Oct. 2, 2022.
“I didn’t feel the need to stick with social norms and get reconstructive surgery,” she added.
“I accept the way I am — and it’s something I’ve learnt to control, despite what others think.”
The charity volunteer ran virtually again, in the 2023 London Marathon — and vowed to take part in-person the following year.
On April 21, 2024, Louise became the first woman to run the Marathon topless while showing off her mastectomy scars.
This year, she is “beyond excited” to take part in the epic run once again.
Louise said: “I’m so excited and fired up for Sunday!
“I have to run it to get rid of all the energy I have after taking it slower these past few weeks to prepare!”
As well as wanting to raise awareness for lobular breast cancer, she says she also wanted to promote body positivity and self-acceptance.
“Lots of people knew me through TikTok, so I had a lot of people cheering me on,” Louise said.
“It would’ve been an amazing experience doing it anyway; if I was topless or not.
“But people saw me topless and they were crying, women were shouting my name – it was just unbelievable.
“Breast cancer surgeons were coming up to me and saying it was all amazing.
“It just felt like the right thing to do — to go topless at that time.”
Louise managed to raise $4,650 for charity Breast Cancer Now, just by taking part in the Marathon last year.
Now, she is undergoing her running tour of the UK — which will include the upcoming London Marathon, as well as the Great West and Great North runs.
Louise said: “I want to empower people and document my journey to inspire others.
“It’s about showing all the vulnerabilities.
“I posted videos at the start, when I was going through cancer, so people can see the journey and know that you can get past those feelings.
“I think people can relate because its real.
“So much good can come out of negative — it may not be cancer, people go through such traumas in their lives.
“But it doesn’t mean your life has ended. You can make things positive too.”
Louise runs around Braunton most days without a top on — and has no plans to stop anytime soon.
Louise added: “The whole thing has opened up a can of worms, to be honest.
“But I wanted that to happen — I didn’t start [running topless] because I thought everyone was going to like it.
“I was doing it to ignite change; to get people to think about what they were saying to others about their appearances.
“I accept the way I am — this is the best my body has ever been, ever.
“I’m the strongest I’ve ever been, and the most beautiful.”
Louise has said she will also be releasing a book this year entitled ‘Going Topless,’ which will document her experience.
Read the full article here