Search

RUN247 / Running News / London Marathon 2025: Breast cancer survivor who raced topless ‘overwhelmed’ by outpouring of love

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

Stuart Dick
Reporter
Published on

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.

Advertisement

“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.”

Louise Butcher 2025 London Marathon Medal
Louise Butcher ran the 2024 and 2025 London Marathons topless after a double mastectomy to raise breast cancer awareness (Photo – TCS London Marathon).

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:

SplitTimeDiffmin/kmkm/h
5K00:33:5133:5106:478.87
10K01:08:4034:4906:588.62
15K01:43:5935:1907:048.50
20K02:21:2837:2907:308.00
Half02:30:4209:1408:267.13
25K03:06:4035:5809:136.51
30K03:54:3047:5009:346.27
35K04:43:5949:2909:546.06
40K05:29:1145:1209:036.64
Finish05:47:4018:2908:267.12

Stuart Dick
Written by
Stuart Dick
Stuart is a graduate of the University of Sunderland with a masters' degree in Sports Journalism. He spends a lot of his time running and cycling around West Yorkshire, England.

Latest Running News

Lazarus Lake Barkley Marathons
Barkley Marathons genius Laz Lake nearing next finish line in his trek across America
William Goodge
British ultra-runner Will Goodge going for change of pace after record-breaking run across Australia
New Zealand lawyer sets incredible new world record with 500 ultramarathons in 500 days
Stephanie Case wins UTMB Snowdonia 2025 photo credit UTMB
Six months postpartum, breastfeeding en route and no elite bib – yet Stephanie Case STILL WINS Britain’s biggest ultramarathon
William Goodge
British athlete becomes the fastest human to run across Australia EVER with incredible new record
trail running on your terms

Never miss out with our trail alerts & digest. Get a dose of adventure & inspiration with Boundless.

The 247 Group

The home of endurance sports

Share to...