Studentsky Beh - Students Run Bratislava

The to commemorate the International day for Students on the 17th of November, a run is organised in Bratislava. The run signifies the running the students had to make from police and military personal after a peaceful demonstration turned nasty in 1989. The demonstrators were themselves celebrating the 50th anniversary of the International day for Students and used it was an opportunity to voice their displeasure with the communist party of Czechoslovakia. The demonstration, starting in Bratislava marched to Prague picking up numbers on the way until mass demonstrations sparked what was to develop into the Velvet Revolution.

The 12.5 km route passes many current University faculty buildings and spans the river Danube twice crossing both the Stary and Lafranconi bridges.

Studentsky Beh Route 2013

A cloudy start to the day turned bright and sunny with a slight chilly breeze blowing in from the Austrian border in the west.
The later start of 11 I'm sure was appreciated by many of the student runners.
My quick start was a bit too quick and I found myself at 18kmph according to my watch so slowed it down and found my rhythm once at the river. I had aimed to finish under the hour as a ballpark figure due to my inexperience in roadraces. By the first bridge at 5k I had slowed a little reflecting the lack of any training since the summer. A warm tea was questioned but welcomed as a drink at the halfway station and I found a pace with a guy in red, this helped the focus on the otherwise boring(it was flat) stretch along the river embankment. Some calculations at this point pretty much confirmed my planned time, as long as I didn't mess up. After the second bridge, at around 10k I started to feel a bit weak but kept at it uphill(slightly) to hold my position across the line.

Start Most - Old Bridge

I finished in 52.29. Just under 10 mins behind the winner, he was giving it some. Coming in 37th of a field of 312.

I hope I will not get swept into a hobby of road running with the ridiculous amount of warm clothing and gadgets plugged into everywhere.

Until I find some cross-country races or even a fell race, they will have to suffice.

Paddy Walsh