To honour the nation’s veterans and as a precursor to Veterans Day on November 11, the first annual Veterans’ Run took take place on Wednesday morning, whereby the public were invited to run alongside 50 Slovak soldiers in combat clothing.
The run was organised by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and was open to the general public. A presentation was held from 8.30 to 9.00, with Slovak Defence Minister Martin Glváč starting the run at 9.30 am. The 5.5 kilometre run started and finished at the First World War cemetery in the Bratislava borough of Petržalka, near the historic military bunker BS-8. Participants were encouraged to wear a single red poppy as a symbol of respect to veterans, both past and present, which were laid on the graves of soldiers along with lit candles. “I believe that this run will become a firm and long tradition”, said Defence Minister Martin Glváč at the event.
