London Marathon 2025: Breast cancer survivor who raced topless ‘overwhelmed’ by outpouring of love

Breast cancer survivor Louise Butcher was one of the 56,640 finishers of the 2025 TCS London Marathon on Sunday, helping set a new world record for marathon finishers at a single event. But few told their story as powerfully.

Louise, who was diagnosed with Lobular breast cancer just three weeks prior to her first scheduled marathon attempt, was raising money for Cancer Now for the second successive year.

A world record holder, she became the first women to run a marathon topless in April 2024, demonstrating positivity and empowerment following a double mastectomy. She ran the 2025 event, again topless, in a time of 5:47:40 and has currently raised over £1,100 this year – in addition to £3,500 12 months ago.

“Brutal, but bloody amazing”

Louise posted on her Facebook account following the race, describing a tough afternoon on the streets of London:

“A brutal but bloody Amazing TCS London Marathon, a day filled with fun, making new friends, memories & pushing Boundaries to enable change.”

Following hundreds of well wishes in the comments section, Butcher expressed her heartfelt emotions to those who responded:

“I am overwhelmed by all these beautiful comments, thank you but remember it takes support & a willingness to encourage change to validate, you are all part of this as well,” she added.

Those wishing to know more about Louise, and support Cancer Now, can find more information here.

Louise Butcher time splits

Louise’s time splits in London on Sunday looked like this: