One of the hundreds of runners on the Old Bridge on New Year's Eve. (source: TASR)
THE FINAL athletic event for 2011 was a mass run across all of Bratislava's bridges on New Year’s Eve, typically called Silvester in Slovakia because December 31 is the name day of Silvester. Nearly 1,000 runners took part in this symbolic farewell to the old year that has now been organised for 23 years. The event again showed that getting some physical exercise rather than just celebrating, feasting and drinking is a popular idea in Bratislava.
“We are satisfied with the event and its course. It has become a popular run, as proved by the record participation,” Jozef Chynoranský from the Sports and Recreational Facilities Administration (STaRZ) told the TASR newswire. The very good weather that evening might also have helped lure the 976 participants, including Mikuláš Dzurinda, Slovakia’s foreign affairs minister.
The overall route covered 10 kilometres, leading from the University of Economics in Bratislava on the south bank of the Danube River across the Prístavný Bridge, back to Petržalka via the Apollo Bridge, followed by a return across the river on the Old Bridge, back to the southern embankment via the New Bridge and a return across the Lafranconi Bridge, the ending point.
The winner of the Silvester run was Imrich Magyar, sponsored by Behame.sk, who covered the distance in 36:24 minutes, followed by Konštantín Kocian (also Behame.sk) and Andrej Orlický from Triatlon Team Trnava.
The first female finisher was Petra Fašungová in 41:50 minutes (sponsored by Behame.sk), followed by Katarína Pokorná (Slávia STU Bratislava) and Daniela Trnovcová (ŠK Vazka Bratislava).
