“And I was ready for the run... the run was mine... I was ready for the run!”
Runner Eva Seidlová was born on May 19, 1948 in Rimavská Sobota, the second of five children. She had and still has a wonderful sibling relationship with her sisters Gabriela, Lídia and brothers Peter and Štefan. Mother Gabriela came from a pure Slovak family from Revúca, and was born in 1927. Eva’s father, Vojtech, was seven years older than her mother and was born in Levice, into a Hungarian family. He came from eleven children, and even though they lived in Slovak territory, his family never learned Slovak. In 1948, after the victorious February, there was a change in the political regime, which Eva’s parents welcomed. Both became partisans and supporters of the regime. In 1954, Eva started a nine-year elementary school in Rimavská Sobota, where they were taught the first year by a teacher of Czech origin and did not know written Slovak at all. Later, in 1963, Eva became a student at the Metallurgical Secondary Vocational School in Tisovec, where admission was no problem. Although at that time her mother was kicked out of the party, due to which problems could be expected, they did not arise at school. Eva’s choice of school was influenced by her older sister, who was already attending at that time, so the younger sister followed the example of the older one. After finishing high school and successfully passing the matriculation exam in 1967, Eva decided to work in the ironworks in Košice. Since she did not continue her studies for understandable reasons, she went to her older sister in Košice, who basically helped her with her work there. At first, less than the first year, she worked in a four-chair tandem among men, as a worker, later she moved to the administrative area and worked as a clerk. Her private life was affected by crossing paths with a young man, Tibor from Vrábel, to whom she became engaged after six years and subsequently married. Eva lived in Košice until 1972. Since she was already pregnant with her son Tibor, she married her fiance in the same year and they started living together in Tlmače, where her husband got a job. Eva got a job at Slovenské energetické strojárne in Tlmače, where she worked in the sales department, with the exception of maternity leave, until her retirement. In 1980, she managed to graduate from the University of Economics in Bratislava, externally, while her second child, daughter Eva, was born in addition to her studies. In 1983, Eva discovered her love for running and ran her first full-length marathon, 42 kilometers and 195 meters, in 1984, in Košice. Together with other runners, an athletic section was formed in Tlmače, of which Eva became the leader. She was the leader for almost 40 years, while today, in the still functioning section, the fourth generation has been running since its inception. Running was not just a hobby or hobby. He gained a special place in Eva’s life and became an integral part of it. The most memorable marathons certainly include the top six world marathons, which were run in New York, Boston, Chicago, Tokyo, Berlin and London. The marathon in New York was the most moving for her. Until October 2023, Eva completed 508 marathons, while number 500 was won by the marathon in Bratislava. Currently, Eva still wants to reach the number 600 in the number of marathons run, while her unfulfilled destinations are definitely Sydney and Iceland.
