I Ran The North Korean Marathon and Almost Got ARRESTED! 🇰🇵

I decided to run the Pyongyang 2025 Marathon with no preparation and practically zero training. This was the first North Korean marathon in 6 years. The capital of North Korea Pyongyang has been closed for foreigners for over half a decade and we were among the first visitors in the country. Despite having run less than 40km combined in the first three months of 2025, I decided to sign up to become the first Bulgarian to run the full marathon in this decade.

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to travel to North Korea or at least the first in this decade and I was not going to miss it. As of today, the North Korean borders and its capital are still closed for foreign tourists but we were fortunate to be let inside the DPRK as part of a marathon running delegation.

There were runners like Khop from Nepal who had participated in 111 marathons in his life and confessed that he had never experienced eclectic atmosphere like the one at the Pyongyang marathon. It didn't come without any controversy despite the unforgettable crowd, as the rules were changed hours before the marathon and once again half way through the race.

Regardless of the possibility of getting arrested towards the end of the marathon, I decided to stick with the rules and continue until the end. This was an unforgettable day filled with emotions and I wish I could personally say a big thank you to every single person I came across on April 6th who made this day as special as it was.

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#pyongyang #northkorea #dprk #northkorean