🎅 The St Nicholas Run is here! This Saturday, 6 December, we'll meet at the start of the opening event of the 2025/2026 ČSOB Winter Series. ❄️
We're looking forward to a festive mood, great performances and the unique atmosphere of the St Nicholas Edition. And what would a St Nicholas run be without St Nicholas himself? This kind gentleman will visit Eurovea to delight all the children – and not just the youngest ones!
After the awards ceremony you can also look forward to a raffle for everyone who comes in festive style. If you can't find a costume at home, don't worry – a St Nicholas hat will do. 🎄✨
See you at the start!
Organisational information for Saturday's event:
➡️ Race venue: Eurovea (shopping centre), Pribinova street
➡️ Event programme – Saturday 6 December 2025:
• 08:00 – 10:00 – registration and participant check-in (under the food court at the end of Eurovea 2)
• 09:40 – group photo with St Nicholas (start/finish – promenade)
• 09:45 – children's warm-up before the start (riverside by the M. R. Štefánik statue)
• 10:00 – changing rooms and bag storage open
• 10:00 – start of the BILLA children's races (A – B – C)
• 10:30 – BILLA children's races awards ceremony
• 10:55 – lining up in the corridors – pre-start information (the race starts in 3 waves)
• 11:00 – start of the 10 km
• 11:10 – start of the 5 km
• 12:20 – 5 km and 10 km awards ceremony
• 12:30 – prize raffle + award for the best Christmas costume
➡️ Check-in (bib pick-up):
• Friday from 12:00 to 19:00
• Saturday from 08:00 to 10:00
Check-in location: inside Eurovea 2 shopping centre on the ground floor (0), under the food court near the exit to the tower.
We kindly ask runners from Bratislava to pick up their bib on Friday if possible!
You can also collect bibs for your friends. All you need is their forwarded registration confirmation email.
➡️ Universal bib for runners with a full-series entry: If you bought an entry for the whole series, you'll receive a universal bib that you'll also use at the next rounds of the Winter Series.
This means you don't have to attend check-in for the Three Kings, Valentine's and IWD Editions. Just come with your undamaged universal bib from the St Nicholas Edition.
If it gets damaged or lost, contact us well before the start of the next edition and we'll replace it.
➡️ Golden bibs: Four runners have been drawn at random and will receive special golden bibs, which come with free photos from the event.
➡️ Start corridors:
Because of the high number of entries, the race will traditionally start in three waves about one minute apart:
• Wave 1: 5 km under 27 min, 10 km under 49 min
• Wave 2: 5 km 27:01 – 32 min, 10 km 49:01 – 57 min
• Wave 3: 5 km over 32 min, 10 km over 57:01 min
❗Choosing a corridor is voluntary, but please line up according to your real ability.❗
➡️ The start and finish are under the M. R. Štefánik statue by the riverside. Children will run along the promenade towards the Old Bridge, turn and run back to the finish.
Maps for the 5 km and 10 km are published at www.bratislavamarathon.sk under “Race day – Venue map”.
➡️ Changing rooms and bag storage: Changing rooms will be inside Eurovea 2 (at the opposite end of the building from check-in), next to Decathlon, roughly opposite McDonald's. They open on Saturday at 10:00.
Bag storage will be available at the registration point from 10:00.
➡️ Refreshments on the course and at the finish: There will be a water station at about 5 km on the 10 km course.
At the finish there will be Cool+ non-alcoholic radler, water, tea and sweet gingerbread. Children wearing the St Nicholas hat from BILLA (you'll get it when you pick up your bib) will receive a sweet treat at the finish.
➡️ Photos: Event photos are provided by the professional photo service GetPica. After the event, participants who agreed to photography when registering will receive a link to their personal photos at the email address given in the registration. Don't cover your bib with another layer of clothing so your photos can be matched to you. If you like the photos, you can buy them individually or as a discounted set.
If you're not sure whether you agreed to receive photos when registering, keep your bib – it has a unique code that gives you access to your photos at www.getpica.com.
➡️ Marathon shop: As usual, our shop will be open at registration. You'll find accessories in the 2025 ČSOB Winter Series design (buffs, headbands, hats, T-shirts, medal hangers, Christmas baubles, bells, etc.) as well as products from our partners, which you can already find in our e-shop shop.becool.sk
➡️ Awards ceremony:
• children: after the children's races, at about 10:30
• 5 km and 10 km: at about 12:20
➡️ Raffle:
• Every runner dressed in theme will be entered into a draw for great prizes. You don't have to come dressed as St Nicholas (but you can!).
• Report at the finish and we'll give you a raffle ticket. We have valuable prizes from our event partners. The draw will take place after the main race awards.
• You must be physically present at the draw. Otherwise we'll draw another runner.
➡️ St Nicholas mail / Santa mail:
St Nicholas will also visit us at the first round of the 2026 ČSOB Winter Series:
1) write a letter at home saying which sports gift would make you happy
2) sign it legibly with your full name + add your bib number
3) put the letter in an envelope and drop it in the Christmas mailbox at registration
St Nicholas will grant the wishes of a few of you and deliver a gift under the Christmas tree
➡️ Best costume contest
The St Nicholas jury will be keeping a close eye on your creative festive outfits! The most original ones will win a gift right at the event, so stay until the end!
➡️ How to get to the start
The best way is to come on foot or by public transport:
• Bus: 29, 50, 70, 90 (Malá scéna or Nové SND stop)
• Tram: 3 (Šafárikovo námestie stop)
• Trolleybus: 40 (Nové SND stop) – runs from the main railway station if you arrive by train.
Parking is available at Eurovea (the first 5 hours are free at weekends). Please note that the number of parking spaces is limited. You can also park in the surrounding streets.
VIRTUAL VERSION:
➡️ When can I run my chosen distance?
You can run your 5 km or 10 km (children: the distance for their age) at any time from Thursday 4 December 2025 to Sunday 7 December 2025.
➡️ Rules for adults (5 km and 10 km):
Measure your time and distance with a running watch or a mobile app. You need to generate a GPX file or a screenshot from the app and upload it to the online system using the link in the email with instructions you'll receive before the official date of the Winter Series round.
Your result is the so-called “elapsed time” – the total time from the start of your run to the end, including any breaks you take (ideally run the distance without stopping, or if you need a break on the course, don't stop your watch or app).
➡️ How do I get a GPX file of my run?
We've prepared a guide for adults on downloading a GPX file from different watches and running apps.
See the guide: /aaa/
➡️ Rules for children:
Children's virtual races are non-competitive. After the run, parents upload the time to the results system. You'll receive the upload link before the date of the Winter Series round. Enter the time in the format hh:mm:ss (e.g. 00:01:52).
There will be no ranking by time in the children's races; children will be listed by bib number or alphabetically. Children can download their certificate next to their name in the results.
➡️ When do I have to upload my result?
Any time after your run, but no later than midnight on Monday. After midnight (Tuesday morning) the system will no longer let you upload a result. Don't leave it until the last minute!
➡️ What should I watch out for?
We count the time from the start of your run to the end, the so-called “elapsed time”. So if you take a break during the run, it will count towards your total time.
You can run your chosen distance anywhere, but the elevation must not be negative overall – you can't run more downhill than uphill.
Treadmill runs are not allowed!
➡️ How will I receive my medal?
We'll send a finisher's medal to every participant who properly records their result in the system (adults and children) at the address given in the registration form.
We're glad you decided to run with us! Enjoy your run!
