On Sunday I ran in what I believe may be the most popular race in Slovakia: a 11.5-kilometer run between Devín Castle and Bratislava. Here’s the official race description in English (which reads rather humorously): “The National Run Devín – Bratislava is specific in that it is regularly attended by excellent runners, who are concepts in the athletic world. Along with hundreds of non-organized, recreational runners, for whom this race is a matter of honour, health or pleasure.” I may not be a concept in the athletic world, but for me the race was a matter of honor!
Also: “… participants can look forward to a commemorative medal, which is ready for any competitor who catches up to the finish line.” I was a bit concerned that the finish line also moved, such that catching up to it might not actually be possible! But fortunately the finish line stayed put.
This race was my longest ever. My watch said 7.2 miles, and I officially finished at 59:36, which I was actually really happy about, since I did it in less than an hour. I was 649th out of 1662 total people. I was 42nd out of 112 men aged 50-59 years. It was overall a young crowd.
The race was a fun and unique experience, in many ways. We ran along the Danube river, and the autumn views of the surrounding hillsides were beautiful.
However, I was very confused upon arrival to the start area, as I could not find where to pick up my race number. I asked around, and most didn’t know. I think it took asking eight people before I finally got my number – some young guy took me over to a parked car nearby, opened the back hatch, and pulled out some safety pins and a sheet with a race number for me. Obvious, right?! It seems that everyone else got their number in advance, though I’m not sure how because when I registered it said to just bring the emailed confirmation number to the race. Perhaps it was my late registration, but I didn’t see anyone else with this problem, and how would they have figured it out too? No signage, and just look into some car’s trunk?
Otherwise, it was pretty smooth. I’m staying near the train station, and there was bus pickup there to drive participants out to the starting area in Devín, outside of Bratislava. I didn’t bring a long-sleeved shirt because I knew I’d get too hot while running, but it was a little chilly in the morning, so my short sleeves weren’t sufficient. But I didn’t bring anything extra because I figured I couldn’t store anything since we’d be 11.5 kilometers away by race end. Well, that was accounted for – they had a storage system using the buses! It was a mobile coat or bag check, on a bus. Never seen that before, and I guess I’ve also never run a race with start and finish lines nowhere near each other.
This past weekend I climbed a steep hill to the side of downtown to reach a huge memorial and cemetery for the over 6,000 Soviet soldiers who died liberating Bratislava from the Nazis at the end of WWII.
Today’s dad joke: What is a college campus courtyard called when hosting a strange event?
A quodd
Today’s travel quote:
Travelling tends to magnify all human emotions.
Peter Hoeg
Major Meander 
1600 runners and you’re the only one from the US? That’s pretty neat – so is your name in that list of Slovak names. I guess the expat Americans aren’t flocking to Bratislava. The race numbers in the trunk of a car is hilarious!
Hah yes, re the names I was singing “which of these things is not like the other…” to myself in my head as I was looking through those. I also love how Scott runs a 7 mile race and then decides to climb a massive steep hill. There’s no slowing that guy down!
I’ve been averaging 11.5 miles of walking/hiking/running per day, according to my watch. It’s too much, honestly. I took a break today.
Congrats on the race results. That’s impressive, although getting your number out of some guy’s trunk sounds a bit like buying a watch from a guy on the street corner with lots of them running up his arm.
Great finish! I love that race distance – 10Ks are one of my favorites. Beautiful scenery, too! The story about the start and finish lines reminds me of the episode of The Office where Michael plans a 5k that ends 5 kilometers away from the office building and has no plan for people to get back. Haha!