Marathoner Louise Butcher Sets Guinness Record for Running Topless Post Double Mastectomy
positive/
evergreen/
health (iab-7)
- Louise Butcher, a 51-year-old marathoner from North Devon, England, holds the title of 'Fastest Marathon Runner with Double Mastectomy' in the Guinness Book of World Records.
- Butcher runs marathons topless to normalize mastectomy without reconstruction, aiming to show the positive side of life after breast cancer surgery.
- “What I wanted to do is to normalize mastectomy,” she told PEOPLE. “The records are there to be broken, so [Guinness] came up with the record that I would be the fastest woman with a double mastectomy.”
- "That's what I wanted—that women might want to beat it,” she added. “It's just part of the normalizing of the mastectomy and not having breasts.”
- She began running topless after noticing negativity around mastectomy flap closure surgery without reconstruction.
- Butcher had an aggressive cancer that didn't show up on a routine mammogram, and she eventually underwent a double mastectomy after her diagnosis.
- Despite challenges and a grieving process after the surgeries, running and fitness helped Butcher accept her body and move forward.
- Running topless made Butcher appreciate the benefits and positive aspects, such as feeling free and living life to the fullest.
- Now two years after her surgery, Butcher emphasizes the importance of body healing and self-awareness post-cancer.
- Butcher's decision to run the London Marathon topless this April sparked positive reactions and conversations.