"My Period Started Suddenly During the Marathon": Female Athlete Finishes Despite Severe Cramps

Her Period Started Unexpectedly at the 25-Kilometer Mark
Finished in 2:48:51 Despite Menstrual Cramps, Placing Seventh Overall

Even amid severe physical distress and excruciating pain that struck during the race, her determination to reach the finish line never wavered. Park Seoyeon, 22, a track and field athlete with Hapcheon County Office, has moved many with her grit, overcoming unexpected adversity and finishing the race in her first-ever full marathon at the National Sports Festival.

Park Seoyeon, 22, a track and field athlete with Hapcheon County Office. Screenshot from Park Seoyeon's Instagram.

On October 18, Park competed in the women's marathon (42.195 km) in the general division of track and field at the 107th National Sports Festival, held on Jeju Island. She crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 48 minutes and 51 seconds, placing seventh overall.

But behind the emotion of finishing with a time that put her among the top runners was the intense pain that struck midway through the race. When she crossed the finish line, blood was clearly visible running down her legs, revealing just how grueling the race had been.

"I wanted to give up, but I wanted to keep the promise I made to myself"

Shortly after the race, Park shared her story on social media, saying, "I finished my first-ever National Sports Festival marathon in seventh place." She revealed, "My period unexpectedly started around the 25-kilometer mark. I was so taken aback because I'd already had it two and a half weeks earlier, and I really wanted to give up."

The steep, seemingly endless hills on Jeju's course and the sudden onset of severe menstrual cramps left her stomach feeling as if it were being squeezed and drained the strength from her legs. But she explained what drove her to keep running, saying, "I wanted to keep the promise I made to myself that I would never give up again." Park also thanked the director and coaching staff who guided her, as well as everyone who cheered her on.

Women speak out and break the "taboo"

Park's disclosure has also drawn attention as a moment that brings menstrual health issues among female athletes, long treated as a "taboo" in sports, into the open.

Previously, Chinese swimmer Fu Yuanhui looked distressed, clutched her stomach and slumped to the ground after finishing fourth in the women's 4x100-meter relay at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Asked by a reporter, "What's bothering you?" she admitted, "My period started yesterday, and my stomach hurts a lot. But menstrual cramps can't be an excuse for a poor performance." She spoke openly about menstruation, a topic often considered taboo among female athletes.

Amber Glenn, a member of the U.S. women's national figure skating team, also revealed in an interview after the women's singles event at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics that she had competed while on her period. "It's really hard to perform in this condition, wearing a thin costume, with the whole world watching," Glenn said. "It's an important issue for female athletes, but there's still an atmosphere that makes it difficult to talk about openly."

Arisa Igarashi, a two-time Olympic bronze medalist in badminton mixed doubles for Japan, recently spoke about the menstrual cramps she had experienced since her teens at a talk event titled "Menstruation and Conditioning" held at Japan Sport University's Tokyo Setagaya Campus.

Igarashi said she had suffered from severe menstrual cramps since her school days, admitting, "My headaches and stomachaches were so bad that I once collapsed and lay on the floor during practice." She also advised, "It's good to be kind to yourself and adjust to your mood, telling yourself, 'Some days are like this.'"

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.