A mum who had a mastectomy is set to become the first women to run the London Marathon topless.
Louise Butcher, 50, often jogs around Braunton, Devon, with her top half uncovered to raise awareness for mastectomy scars and flat closure surgery after a cancer operation in 2022.
The charity worker has already completed a virtual London Marathon last year.
And and is set to run the real thing on Sunday April 21.
Running without a top on has become "the norm" for Louise and she plans to run the entire 26.2 mile route without a t-shirt, come rain or shine.
She said: "I'm so excited - I can't imagine it.
"I keep looking at videos of the day from previous years online.
"I'm just thinking about the atmosphere - I never thought I'd get there.
"The topless thing for me now is normal; it's not even crossed my mind, not in the slightest.
"I've ran every run topless for a year. I'm not going to be thinking about that whilst I'm running - it's my norm.
"I feel much stronger and better for this marathon than the others.
"I did my 20.5 mile run on Monday and it was amazing and I felt like I could have carried on.
"I'm still getting messages from women that it makes them feel better. I know it's the right thing to do."
Louise was diagnosed with lobular breast cancer in April 2022.
She found a lump in her breast by checking herself and the diagnosis was confirmed by an ultrasound.
She refused to let the diagnosis or radiotherapy treatment stop her from running and hopes to complete her latest challenge in under five hours.
She said: "I'm aiming for four hours 46 minutes but with my training, I think I'll be able to do it 4 hour 30 but you never know what will happen.
"It's amazing - there's so much awareness around flat closure surgery and the whole aspect of women not having to have stuff put back.
"I don't think there's a better way to do it than running topless.
"With the Breast Cancer Now team, there's 250 of us running.
"I've done so much training in the cold and wet so if it's raining I'm used to it without the top."
The London Marathon starts in Blackheath and passes through many of London's famous landmarks.
On her reasoning for wanting to run topless, Louise said: "It was so dark in 2022 with the cancer, running topless didn't feel brave, I felt like I needed to do it.
"When I first did it, it wasn't tough, it just felt a bit weird but now I don't blink an eye, - it's who I am now.
"I was running once or twice a week before the diagnosis, but six months before I was diagnosed I started training for the virtual marathon and since then I haven't stopped.
"It's just things about inspiring women to have body positivity - even women who haven't had breast cancer.
"We don't have to feel shame.
"A lot of women who have reconstruction do so as they feel like they want to fit into society and some of them regret it and end up going flat anyway.
"It's opened up the argument and the perception of what society looks at breasts as."
