Jun. 8, 2026 Live from the road

Žilina - Banská Bystrica

Reported by Danica Cernakova 97.0 km

The first meeting of this year's Peace Run in Slovakia took place at the Elementary School of Slovak Volunteers in Budatín, which we had already visited several years ago.

Prvé stretnutie tohtoročného Mierového behu na Slovensku bolo na základnej škole Slovenských dobrovoľníkov v Budatíne, ktorú sme už navštívili pred niekoľkými rokmi.

A delightful performance by children dancing to traditional folk songs.

Milé vystúpenie detí tancujúcich na ľudové piesne

Who will be first? ... A pantomime performance by Vlado with one of the students he chose as his stage partner.

Kto bude prvý? ...Pantomimické vystúpenie Vlada s jedným zo žiakov, ktorého si vybral, ako spoluherca

I've got it! I know what I'll wish for...

Už to mám! Viem, čo si zaželám...

The principal, Dáša Švaňová, told us about their friendly cooperation with a Korean school, through which they exchange and share their traditions.

Pani riaditeľka PaedDr. Dáša Švaňová nám porozprávala o priateľskej spolupráci s kórejskou školou, s ktorou si vymieňajú svoje tradície.

We are happy to leave behind a beautiful remembrance in the form of a Peace Tree, which the children and teachers planted together before our visit. To mark the occasion, we presented them with a commemorative plaque bearing the following meaningful quotation:

"Victory usually means temporary peace. However, peace is a lasting victory."

Sme šťastní, že tu po sebe zanecháme peknú pamiatku v podobe Stromu mieru, ktorý si deti spolu s pedagógmi spoločne zasadili, pred našou návštevou a my sme im k tomu venovali peknú plaketu aj s výstižným citátom:  " Víťazstvo obvykle znamená dočasný mier. Avšak mier je trvalým víťazstvom"

We are running 4 km  along a cycling path towards the city of Martin, our next stop.

Bežíme po cyklotrase 4Km smerom do mesta Martin, našej ďalšej zastávky.

And here, students from Hurbanova Elementary School in Martin are already joining us, together with their teachers and the school prevention coordinator, Miroslava Francúzová, who helped us organize a wonderful event on the school playground with the participation of the entire school.

A tu sa k nám už pripájajú žiaci zo základnej školy Hurbanova v Martine spolu pedagógmi a pani koordinátorkou prevencie Miroslavou Francúzovou, ktorá nám pomohla zorganizovať krásne podujatie na ihrisku školy za účasti celej školy

They even set up refreshment stations for us along the route to their school, where more and more students gradually joined in along the way.

Dokonca pre nás vytvorili aj občerstvovacie stanice na ceste do ich školy, kde sa postupne pridávali aj ďalší a ďalší žiaci.

The children sang their school’s beautiful anthem with the help of their teacher, and gradually everyone joined in, because the melody was truly catchy.

Deti nám zaspievali krásnu hymnu ich školy s pomocou pani učiteľky a postupne sa pridali všetci, pretože melódia bola naozaj chytľavá

Balavan likes to introduce himself to children using the song by The Beatles: “We all live in the yellow submarine…”, and the children have to guess which country he comes from.

Balavan sa rád predstavuje deťom pomocou piesne od skupiny Beatles : " We all live in the yellow submarine...", a deti musia hádať, z ktorej krajiny je.

Many children really take care and put a lot of thought into placing their wishes into the Peace Torch.

Mnohé deti pri vkladaní ich prianí do Mierovej pochodne, si naozaj dávajú záležať.

The deputy head for the second level, Martina Pavlíková, who perfectly hosted and moderated our entire event, deserves our admiration for how effortlessly she is able to command respect from around 700 students who were present on the playground.

Pani zástupkyňa pre druhý stupeň Mgr. Martina Pavlíková,PhD, ktorá celé toto naše podujatie perfektne moderovala, si zaslúži náš obdiv, ako si hravo vie vytvoriť rešpekt aj u okolo 700 žiakov, ktorí boli na ihrisku.

The sakura has been planted here at the school as a Peace Tree. We hope it will grow here beautifully and strong.

Sakura pribudla tu na škole ako Mierový strom. Dúfame, že im tu porastie do krásy a sily

Our lunches were prepared for us in this cozy vegetarian restaurant in Martin, and they were truly delicious. Some of us couldn’t resist and also had dessert.

Naše obedy nám prichystali v tejto útulnej vegetariánskej reštaurácii v Martine, a boli naozaj veľmi chutné. Niektorí sme neodolali a dali sme si aj dezert.

A man of peace  is incapable  of world-indifference.(CKG)

Človek mieru nie je schopný ľahostajnosti voči svetu. (CKG)

Torch carried by
Adam Studenik (Slovakia), Alex De Leon (Guatemala), Ananda-Lahari Zuscin (Slovakia), Balavan Thomas (Great Britain), Danica Cernakova (Slovakia), Elder Cordero Florian (Guatemala), Kuladipa Babusik (Slovakia), Marek Bohman (Slovakia), Martina Šimoníková (Czech Republic), Padyatra Komak (Slovakia), Pataka Špaček (Czech Republic), Peter Špak (Slovakia), Ruslana Kupinets (Ukraine), Suparna Pustogowa (Germany), Varunavi Klabníková (Slovakia), Vera Sevastiyanova (New Zealand), Vlado Kulisek (Slovakia).  
Photographers
Alex De Leon
The torch has travelled 97.0 km from Žilina to Banská Bystrica.

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