Marathoner Park Seo-yeon. [Instagram capture]
Marathoner Park Seo-yeon. [Instagram capture]

Track-and-field athlete Park Seo-yeon, 22, of Hapcheon-gun has drawn widespread praise after revealing she completed her first National Sports Festival marathon despite the onset of her period mid-race and severe menstrual pain.

Park competed in the women's open marathon at the 107th National Sports Festival, held in Jeju on Sunday, finishing the 42.195-kilometer course in 2 hours, 48 minutes and 51 seconds to place seventh.

She had previously made her mark in track events, winning a gold medal in the women's under-19 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 103rd National Sports Festival in 2022. This year's marathon marked her first foray into the road race at the festival.

Despite finishing in the top 10 in her debut, the race was far from smooth.

After crossing the finish line, Park wrote on SNS that it was her "first-ever National Sports Festival marathon" and that her period had unexpectedly started at the 25-kilometer mark. "It had already come two and a half weeks earlier, and I really wanted to give up," she said.

She then described the conditions she faced: "Endless hills, a sudden drop in form mid-race, and menstrual cramps that made my stomach feel like it was being wrung out — I was in pain and losing strength."

Photos Park shared also showed blood running down her leg, apparently from an injury, giving a glimpse of just how grueling the race had been.

Even so, Park did not quit. She pushed through all 42.195 kilometers to keep a promise she had made to herself never to give up again, crossing the finish line in 2 hours, 48 minutes and 51 seconds.

Park said she would "come back with an even better performance next time" and expressed gratitude to her coaching staff for supporting her full-course debut.

Once her story spread online, an outpouring of support followed. Commenters wrote that she had "worked so hard to finish despite such difficult circumstances," that they "sincerely respect your mental strength," that watching her "cross the finish line while bleeding" had been an inspiration, and that they "send admiration for her tenderness and willpower."

Meanwhile, Park's story echoes a similar moment of grit from last month, when Park Min-ho, 27, of the Armed Forces Athletic Corps completed the men's marathon at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games with his shoes soaked in blood after sustaining a foot injury mid-race.


betterj@heraldcorp.com