I went on running holiday with OuterEdge to Greece in 2022 and it was one of my best holidays ever, so when Mark posted a Trail and Sail trip to Croatia that satisfied my ‘new country every year’ mission I was excited to join. However I only started running any distance again in April after 2 years off with DVT blood clots and a broken ankle with ligament damage so I wasn't sure I’d be up to it. The blurb said social running though, and I lost 1.5 stone and trained like mad and managed to run a marathon in June without too much drama, so I signed up. The blurb on the website already sounded great, but when I got the itinerary it really did sound like the holiday of a lifetime (through the eyes of a trail runner that is).
We got on the boat midday on Saturday 12th for a briefing and a round of Pelinkovacs (Balkan liquor made from wormwood, with an aniseed taste), for the 8 Brits and 11 Croatians plus 3 crew. The run leader Marko said we would be running as late (or early) in the day as possible to avoid the heat. There would be two groups, one long and fast and one short and slow. I was a bit worried because I like to go long and slow and I didn’t want to miss out on distance by joining the short group, but really didn’t want to hold others up in the long one. It turned out the short group was a hiking group, which negated any issue from me being with the runners. We sailed to Makarska 40km down the coast, passing a pod of dolphins going the other way, then had plenty of time to kill as we weren’t running until 5:30pm - it was hard to mentally settle in with the running part still some time away. We sunbathed a bit, then were given lunch at 3pm, surprisingly 3 courses (it would be the same every day, breakfast and lunch provided), then most of us went for a swim at the local beach which was pretty packed, but lovely in the clear sapphire water with lots of fish.
The run when it came was hot and hard, but amazing. I say hot, we were melting! In the photos it looks like we were on fire. I’m usually okay in the heat, UK heat up to 28 at least, I just get a dry throat the day after, but 34 with a powerful ascent is a different ball game it would seem. We were on entirely my sort of trails, dry rocky paths up a mountain, but I’ve never fought so hard on them. We climbed to 856m up the side of Biokovo, the second highest mountain range in Croatia. The climb went on and on, my legs love a good climb but the heat made it so tough and I worried for my heart, it felt sharp like it would pop. I hit 186 heart rate which is hardly surprising as the main vein in my left leg is blocked so my heart has to work harder, but I don’t know how much of a strain it is for the heart (or not). I allowed myself to slow to bring my heartrate down under 170 where it feels better, that led to me dragging behind the group but the leads said not to worry. There was then a lovely flat wooded section, although it transpired that my new shoes are too big and I had to try very hard not to trip up by snagging the toes on rock fissures and roots.
On day 2 we sailed to our first island, Mljet.
We couldn’t dock until 5pm, so we moored in a nearby local beauty spot called the Blue Lagoon and they lowered steps off the side of the boat for us to get in and swim. I had discovered another swimmer in the group, Viola, and joined up with her to avoid me nervously swimming around in small circles in my own. We swam across the bay and set off round the coastline, and I was barely able to swim 6 solid strokes without finding something fascinating to pause and take a photo of - with bearded fireworms, sharpsnout seabream, some rock-like urchins, and tubular sea cucumbers. I have very little experience of sea swimming abroad, so it was great to be able to learn from the confidence of someone who has.
On the run later we passed a 5th century Roman palace built near an often-scarce fresh water source, then started to climb: “We always start with a hill!”. It was easier than yesterday though, and with less ascent. We were in Mljet National Park, and climbed to a viewpoint for a great view down on all the forested lumps and the convoluted coastline. Unfortunately on the way down we took a casualty as one of the group sprained their ankle. After a rescue had been effected, the rest of us ran along the far coastline. Here I started to get to know the Croatians, as one, Alen, recognised an OceanMan t-shirt I was wearing, having done a couple of their swims himself.
I felt bad that I couldn’t speak more Croatian. I had looked up a few basic words before I went but there’s a limit to how much it’s practical to learn for a one week holiday to a place you’re not sure if you’ll visit more than once. However it turns out they all spoke incredibly good English, and were happy to do so. We took a boat over to St. Mary’s island, where there is a 12th century Benedictine monastery, built here as it was safe from pirates here. We sat inside the chapel for a minute or two, soaking up the atmosphere.
On the boat that evening the hiking group were sat by the bar having drinks with their group leader Ivo who was also the boat captain. Myself and Marko were sat on the next set of benches, I’d only stopped by to ask the plan for the next day and suddenly it turned into a mock ‘them and us’ where tipsy Ivo tried everything he could to get me to join his group, first finding things we had in common like musical tastes and motorbikes, then spinning me around in a little dance. I told him he would jinx my running and I’d probably get an injury the next day! Despite my protests my glass was re-filled with many glasses of wine, I think I got through a litre. Thankfully the next morning I was hangover free, having also quaffed plenty of squash.
Day 3 found us at Viganj, a town on the Pelješac peninsula of the mainland which protrudes out nearly as far as the island of Korčula, and the run today was an early morning one starting at 8am, (after less than 6 hours’ sleep as the boat was pitching when it started sailing at 5am which was hard to sleep through). Today was a tough day for me. The run was beautiful, but it was another steep mountain climb. It was also blisteringly hot again, 35 degrees, with little shade, we did run through some shaded forest paths but they were close and overbearing rather than cool. You can’t feel your breath as it’s almost body temperature. I also started my period the day before which usually incapacitates me with cramps, exercise helps keep them at bay but instead I felt really rough in a way I can’t really define, like I'm in pain at a cellular level and about to implode. The run took us part way up Mount Kontija with views across the water to the town of Korčula, where the streets are built in a fishbone shape to protect from the weather. Slavery was banned there in the 13th century.
Marco told us lots of other interesting facts, very few of which went in because I was just so mentally wobbly. My main memory was that as we ran up the trails, the many dry rock shards tinkled like glass. I also remember a really glorious section of trail in the middle where the flat path cut through a scree slope (photo), which dropped away to our right down towards the sea. Near the top of the climb (photo) I pulled something lightly in my groin. I didn’t think much of it, but on the way down it was hurting more and more and I had to fall back. I tried to run more from my glutes but that has its limits. Once we reached the flat it was fine again so with a mile back to the boat I was running again, but the last half mile I dropped to a plodding walk, I just had no oomph left. It’s frustrating to be struggling so much when the trails are so amazing, I wanted to do it justice.
Half an hour after getting back to the boat I was in the sea for a slow 1km swim sea-safari, using the gravity-reversing effects of the water to take the weight off my weary belly and bones, before we went out again to a local vineyard for a wine-tasting. I saw a Common Two-banded Seabream, Mediterranean Rainbow Wrasse, Red-spotted Horseshoe, Atlantic Purple Sea Urchin, Red Mullet, Painted Comber, Gold Blotch Grouper, Tubular Sea Cucumber and Annular Seabream. The sea was a tonic. On land the effects of the heat, the sleep deficit from an early morning flight that I hadn’t managed to catch up on, IBS from less control over meal ingredients, period bloat and water retention giving puffy ankles were trying to take their toll and zap my energy. I didn’t make it out to town some nights - which is quite unlike me as I’m normally a night owl and am rarely asleep before 1:30. Despite my best efforts though my attempts to sleep here though were thwarted, first by being re-woken at 2:30 when the others came to bed, and at 6am when the engines started and we moved off, and by the heat again - there was air con in the cabins but the unit was on the floor and it didn’t reach the top bunk. None of these things are issues or criticisms, none of them are bad, none of them need changing, but they did mean there wasn’t really a moment to be calm and relax. It’s all sensory input that needs processing, so I was always playing catch up and never reaching peace, or an acceptable temperature. That’s a challenge to be embraced, but one that completely absorbed me, as did the running which for me was a max effort race pace.
It's all part of the experience, holidays have their own pattern and a running holiday is always going to require effort, that’s just par for the course, as the effect is rewarded with epic views and trails. But if it had just had been 5 degrees cooler 😉
Swimming each day saved me, and it became such an important part of my trip. Which is weird - I love swimming but usually for me it means faff and fear. I predominantly swim in the sea off the South Devon coast which unnerves me even after 7 years, as even if the shallower water is clear it’s not as you carry on along the coast. You also have to be mindful of tides and currents and spent time preparing for each swim. There's also the temperature which always takes some commitment. Quite often I’ll drive to the beach, and if I haven’t got a specific plan I’ll sit there thinking about swimming for 20 mins then sigh about my uselessness and drive home. Here in the Adriatic it was different, 25 degrees and clear and welcoming, with only 20-90cm tidal range (South Devon is 4-5m). I’ve never swum so much, but it was easy and relaxing and I didn’t overheat in the water. In the UK you can only swim for so long before you get cold and have to get out, but here I could easily swim for 3km+ in a bikini without getting cold at all, and not get bored either as the water is so clear and fascinatingly full of fish all the way.
Day 4 we sailed to Vela Luka at the end of Korčula island and moored in a bay again. I had energy for a decent swim today and didn’t have to twist Viola’s arm too much for her to come too. We swam along the coast as far as Oškak island, 2.8km total, and saw a few Mediterranean red starfish which was quite exciting. This swim really gave me my confidence for other days. I'd put some photos of the sea life on the group WhatsApp of my first swim, and back at the boat Nina and Bane from the hiking group complimented them, and then each day said they looked forward to the next batch which was very sweet so I kept uploading them.
In the evening we ran across the island via Vela Spika cave which is quite an impressive hole in the ground of archeological significance. I was still nursing my groin strain which meant I couldn’t run down hills. Marko had been sending us the gpx for each route so I’d made a modification taking my time down an alternative descent, then meeting the others part way round their bigger loop, which worked well. In the evening we were treating to a showing of a film Ivo made when he trekked 1100km across Croatia on the Via Adriatica trail, which was clearly a very impressive feat. After that a few of us commandeered the laptop and watched Jaws, quotes from which had started to take over the trip.
The pattern of the days started to resolve with a unique Croatian rhythm: sail (by motor, there weren't any actual sails) at 6, breakfast at 7. Arrive at the new location some time that morning and either moor at a dock or in a bay until the dock was free. Kill time before and after lunch at 2pm. I'd usually swim before lunch then I had time to sort my photos as I went (including uploading from waterproof camera to phone, and putting on Facebook and Strava) to avoid an overload at the end. Then run at around 5pm. We would usually get back from the run around sunset, but the restaurants and bars open late so we were still able to find dinner / beer. We'd got used to finding supermarkets and gelateries, and we’d even acclimatised to the initially deafening sound of cicadas.
Day 5 we arrived at Stari Grad, the oldest town in Croatia. I swam on my own today, but empowered by previous days it was my longest and proudest swim of the trip, 3km. I noted my splits for first 500m then 1km, every time I reached a new stretch there were still people ahead enjoying the coast and I knew it was safe to continue. I rounded a corner into a bay with 2 big boats, there was still people swimming there but it was a good enough marker to turn around. After lunch I walked to look at the town but we weren't docked quite as close to it as usual, and with the sun right overhead there was no shade, and by the time I got there I didn't want to stay so I grabbed some cash from an ATM and an ice cream and bailed back to the boat.
Then came the run. Yesterday I made my own variation and was well prepared, today my groin strain was a bit better after icing and rehab and I could run moderate downhills so I set off with the group, but they were fast on the flat start and disappearing and I started to worry they thought I was doing my own thing and the anxiety started to build. Then I felt silly to get anxiety as that it’s self-centred, and the demons started to spiral and my throat closed up and I couldn’t breathe. I finally got back with the group but was gasping for air and Viola gave me a tip to recite poems in my head to break the negative thought cycle. That worked wonders but I nearly wore out my favourite Robert Frost poem before I got to the summit so I moved on to a Shakespearean sonnet. After that I was fixed, and my groin strain was bearable too, and I managed to largely keep up for a while. At the top of Purkin Kuk is a megalithic structure with massive stone blocks (photo). On the way down we stopped at a shop for a beer (red bull first for me then beer) then when we hit the flat trail back we all went at our own pace so I dropped from 9:30 min miles group steady pace down to a more Sarah-style 11.
Day 6 we arrived at Postira on the island of Brač. It’s was very hot again on my little stroll round town so again I appreciated my swim to cool off, 2km today with warty crabs and some huge shoals of tiny fish. We ran at 4pm, pausing first at the town of Dol where there are some natural caves in a unique conglomerate style rock. There’s a cafe there that makes a cake called Hrapoćuša, created to look like the rock and the recipe a closely guarded secret. It was delicious, nutty and caramelly and cool. It’s an indicator of the heat that the cafe felt nice and icy compared to outside, but a thermometer showed it as 26 degrees. For the rest of the run over the rolling hills and ruins past the church of St. Michael and the ruin of the church of St. Vitus we followed the route of the Brač Easter procession and it was actually shadier and therefore cooler, I almost kept up! The route took us to an olive oil museum where we learned all about the traditional method of processing the olive oil from a very captivating museum owner and enjoyed a buffet dinner of local foody items, and then both groups walked back together.
I still felt the need for a nighttime dip to return me to normal temps before a shower so wandered over to the beach, to find Vlatka from the hiking group already there and we were soon joined by Bane and Nina, we giggled that we had all had the same idea and were the only mad people to be swimming in the dusk.
Day 7
Back at Omiš for the final guided run today, how did that happen? Another morning run setting off for the Stari Grad fort hanging 258m above the town with a great view down. We then wound our way on and down to Ivo's konobo (tavern), where he invited us to share various local specialities, including Soparnik, a dish with swiss chart between two pancakes, and his homemade wine and grappa. The afternoon then descending into raucous singing of traditional songs including one about donkeys (the old way of life). In the evening we all headed into town to share a meal, a specially arranged deal with a selection of local fish.
I was glad we had one more night on the boat as I wasn't ready to leave just yet. I was one with the white noise of crickets and cicadas, the smell of herbs on the mountain trails, the towns with oleander and bougainvillea bursting from the white stone buildings. The trip had a real rhythm, not hectic but continuous. I didn’t think of the UK once, that used to be the norm for me on holidays but I’ve had a lot of solo holidays in the last few years where it’s different. Although I wasn't too upset about heading back to the UK, it would be nice to have some clean clothes, and a cool bedroom.
In total over the week I did 51.5 miles running (out of 52.5) with 3,917m ascent, and 13km swimming (and actually 10 miles of walking too). I also smashed my previous fitness high on strava, but that's a bit of a lie as it's only because my heart rate is so high due to my clot.
Running-wise my body held up pretty well. My right knee tried to explode on the first day as it does but I caught it and kept it away. My painful right groin strain was dealt with and recovered from, only needing to cut one run 1.5k short and doing all the rest. I had a fluidy left Achilles on the last 2 days but that was okay. My broken ankle and blood clot behaved themselves, aside from the high heart rate on the first day. It wasn't until the last day that the ligament that was damaged with my broken ankle started to strain. All week we had experienced boat motion on land, persistent sea legs. That subsided quite quickly once we stopped sleeping on it, but a couple of days later it still feel like I was slowly rolling over if I lay still and closed my eyes. The holiday in general took longer to recover from though. I thought when I got home I’d carry on the momentum with sustained activity energy. Instead I totally zonked out for 2 days with practically no memory of them, it’s like I'd been poorly, and it was another 5 days before I felt restored.
I send out thanks, obviously to Mark for organising the British contingent, but also special mentions to:
Viola, for swim courage, stroke improvement and a future holiday idea, and anxiety management.
Alen, always looking out for me and being full of good humour.
Danijela, for being kind and inspiring.
Marko, for his great routes and being a font of knowledgable.
It was definitely the holiday of a lifetime. I just needed to be a little fitter before I went.
