Louise Burcher has become the first woman to complete an ultramarathon topless, running 31 miles in six hours and 16 minutes along the Tarka Trail in Devon. The 56-year-old mother of two has now taken part in 18 long-distance races without a top, an act she uses to challenge the stigma around mastectomy scars and to raise awareness of lobular breast cancer – a disease she was diagnosed with four years ago.
Her most recent feat, which she described as “cathartic”, adds to a growing list of achievements that include a Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon by a woman with a double mastectomy. She set that record at the London Marathon on 21 April 2024, crossing the line in five hours and 36 minutes and raising £3,500 for Breast Cancer Now. “People were crying, women were shouting my name, breast cancer surgeons were coming up to me – it was just unbelievable,” she said.
Why lobular breast cancer is harder to detect
Burcher’s campaign centres on lobular breast cancer, the second most common form of the disease, yet one she says many women have never heard of. Unlike the more familiar ductal form, lobular cancer starts in the milk-producing glands, or lobules, and often does not produce a firm, distinct lump. Instead, women may notice a thickened area of breast tissue, making it far more difficult to detect through mammograms alone.
This was exactly what happened to Burcher. In April 2022 she found a lump in her breast during a routine shower check. A mammogram just three weeks earlier had been clear. It was only an ultrasound that revealed a five-centimetre tumour close to her chest wall. The diagnosis was confirmed as grade two lobular carcinoma.
The NHS advises people to be alert to a range of possible signs: a new lump or area of thickened tissue in either breast; a change in the size or shape of one or both breasts; fluid discharge from a nipple; a lump or swelling in an armpit; puckering or dimpling of the skin; a rash or crusting around the nipple; or a nipple that becomes sunken. The charity CoppaFeel! recommends a simple routine: look at your chest, pecs or boobs from armpit to collarbone for changes in size, outline or shape; feel the same area for lumps, bumps or skin thickening that differs from the opposite side; and check each nipple for discharge, bleeding, rash or a change in position.
Burcher’s case underscores why self-awareness matters. She initially felt a “weird feeling” and a thickening, prompting her to push for an ultrasound even after a clear mammogram. “I just couldn’t believe how all the ladies I speak to have never heard of it, despite it being the second most common type of breast cancer,” she said.
From diagnosis to running topless
After her diagnosis in April 2022, Burcher underwent a single mastectomy of her left breast in June, during which surgeons found a five-centimetre tumour close to her chest wall. She then had a second single mastectomy to remove her right breast tissue in August, opting for a double mastectomy rather than reconstructive surgery. “I opted to have the second breast off rather than just one breast because it looked odd to me, so I had two surgeries to remove both,” she said. She completed five rounds of intensive radiotherapy in September 2022.
Running had been a coping mechanism since her forties, when she started to manage anxiety. After her diagnosis, it became essential. She continued training through both mastectomies and radiotherapy. “I carried on training through both mastectomies, because I didn’t know how else to cope with such trauma, and I knew running had been there for me during past struggles and hadn’t let me down,” she said. Remarkably, just three days after finishing radiotherapy, she ran her first marathon – a virtual edition of the London Marathon in October 2022, completing the distance in five hours and four minutes.
The idea to run topless came from realising how little the public knows about lobular breast cancer. “I wanted to bring lobular out in the open,” she said. She has now been running topless for three years, proudly showing the scars from her mastectomies. “My scars show the battle that I survived,” she said. “They saved my life – why would I hide them?”
Burcher ran the virtual London Marathon topless again in 2023 before becoming the first woman to run the official event topless in April 2024. Her latest ultramarathon, held on the Tarka Trail, makes her the first woman to complete an ultra distance topless anywhere. She has now run five marathons, seven half marathons, two ten-mile races, three 10-kilometre events and one ultramarathon.
Local hero, author and campaigner
Burcher, who also works as an author and is writing a book titled Going Topless, has become a well-known figure in her hometown of Braunton in Devon, where locals are used to seeing her jog past without a top. She was named a “local hero” by the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway in February 2023. “If you see a lady running past with no breasts it gets it out there and talked about,” she said.
Her fundraising has also supported the Fern Centre at North Devon District Hospital, where she has undertaken additional activities such as a skydive. She has appeared on programmes including ITV’s This Morning to discuss her story.
Despite widespread support, she has faced cruel comments from online trolls who target her body. She refuses to let it affect her. “I’ve never felt more feminine,” she said. “It’s normal where I am now. It feels weird when I wear a top to run!”