Day 64 - July 13: Running with Traffic

Crikvenica to Sveti Juraj: 26.1 miles / 1,771 total

Yesterday’s 55 km day into Crikvenica was the second longest of the trip and definitely the best I’ve felt—though most of it was downhill. Lodging along the Croatian coast is either high-end hotels or rental apartments, with not much in between. Trying to navigate the apartment system wasn’t in the cards for our first night, so we went with Hotel Miramare, a beautiful spot right on the Adriatic Sea and centrally located in town. Christina, who hadn’t yet touched the Mediterranean despite our time along the coast, finally took a dip in the Adriatic. She said it was refreshing—and extremely salty.

Dining customs here start earlier than in other European countries—usually around 6:00 or 6:30pm. I would’ve liked to eat even earlier, but with our late arrival and the usual post-run logistics, we finally sat down at 7:15. I love that wherever we go there are dogs at the tables—inside, outside, doesn’t matter. Jax has one habit I still haven’t broken: he thinks every dog is his best friend. Plenty of chances to work on that here.

We turned off the lights at 9:45pm, but before I fell asleep, I had two thoughts: first, would I pay for the long downhill miles today? And second, what would it be like to run the E65 coast road for a full day? Neither problem could be solved from bed.

The Miramare had the biggest breakfast spread of the trip so far. I budget 30 minutes for breakfast most mornings, but today that stretched to 40 as I hit the omelette station as well as all my other usuals - yogurt, croissants, breads, fruits, juices and 2 coffees. I was on the road by 7:40am, a little too full.

I jogged along the promenade, tracing the water until I reached the town center and began climbing to rejoin the E65—about 500 feet above.

Morning traffic was light, and the big trucks from the day before were thankfully gone. I normally run against traffic, but on this road, I learned the outside (water-facing) lane has a narrow concrete runoff ledge that’s flat enough to run on. The inside edge has an inverted “V” that pitches outward, which makes running awkward unless I’m straddling it. So I ran with traffic, tapping into old cycling instincts—trusting the cars behind me, staying alert for anyone overtaking in my lane. It’s counterintuitive, but I can see those head-on threats and dodge them. When I run against traffic, I just feel them closing in from behind and it surprises and scares me every time.

The Croatian coast is spectacular. The Adriatic was shifting between turquoise and deep blue—it looked like the best parts of the Caribbean. I couldn’t dip into every village, since the road runs high and skirts the hearts of these towns, but they all seem like little water-world communities with marinas, fishing boats, and seaside life happening below.

Peter, Eduardo, Bob—let’s definitely reboot our Croatian sailing trip that COVID derailed!

Doug, thanks for the push on trails. I’ve asked around. There are trails leading up into the Velebit Mountains, but they’re not direct or parallel to the E65. Most are remote singletrack with no services. For the next 11 days—until I reach Dubrovnik—I’m mostly stuck on the coast road.

At 19 km, above Klenovica, I ran out of water. I called Christina for a meet-up, but no answer. Luckily, around a bend at the top of a climb was a roadside kiosk. €13 later I had two bottles of water, a Coke, and a macchiato. Nothing is cheap here.

The road reminds me a bit of PCH in California, except more populated—there’s a village every 5 to 10 km. No sand beaches yet, but there are tons of little rock ones, carved by millennia of runoff from the mountains. Every single one was packed with locals and vacationers, all wearing water shoes and bobbing in the sea.

At 30 km, Christina came by in the car and pulled over to refill my bottles—perfect timing. She still didn’t have a place booked, so she was heading into Sveti Juraj to scout what was available on the ground as no one answered her calls.

I’m not afraid of heights, but by the end of the day the stress and road noise wore me down. I found myself running with one hand brushing the guardrail at times just to stay balanced as cars zipped past from behind on my left and on my right, the cliff leading to the rocks and the sea below.

The biggest town I ran through today was Senj, at around km 34. The promenade was packed with people sunbathing and swimming. Overlooking the town from the hillside was a striking stone fortress: Nehaj Fortress. Built in 1558 by the Uskoks—fierce Christian warriors and refugees from the Ottoman front—it served as a key defense post against Ottoman and Venetian incursions. The name “Nehaj” means “don’t worry,” and it was built as a bold statement of defiance. Senj itself has roots going back over 3,000 years and was a significant Roman and medieval center. It even housed a Glagolitic printing press in the 15th century, helping preserve the Croatian language and culture. The town was once controlled by the Knights Templar and later the powerful Frankopan family.

As I dragged on in my final few kilometers, I had a good laugh courtesy of Ted, who asked if I’d noticed the island across from Crikvenica. “Yeah,” I said, “the islands are massive.” He reminded me that he and Jim raced there in the Epic MTB stage race on stages 1 & 2 —and that if I made it over, I might still find a few pieces of Jim’s broken nose when he tea kettled on a brutal descent!

Christina called back with good news: she’d found a couple of rooms for us in Sveti Juraj, right on the water. The bad news: no breakfast, and the one café doesn’t open until 8am—and we’ll be in the middle of nowhere. Tomorrow’s challenge.

Reading up on Sveti Juraj, it was named after Saint George. It lies right on the ancient Roman D8 route and backs into the Velebit Mountains. From here, you can see the edges of Northern Velebit National Park, and just a few kilometers inland, the roads begin to vanish into dense forests and mountain passes. For me though, I’ll be sticking to the edge - the coast for a while.

Thanks for following along and for the support.

Cheers,

David.

P.S. Mr. J, we loved us some Ćevapčići that we had in Rupa and again this evening for dessert!