The Best Time I Broke My Foot in Sarajevo, Bosnia

David and I are avid runners. Not at the moment, but I’ll get to that soon enough.  Before our trip to Serbia and Bosnia over New Years, we were running around 40 miles a week in preparation for a 50k in one of Washington State’s most beautiful parks.  After successfully completing the race (despite high wind advisories), it was a very quick two weeks recovery before we were on our way back to the Balkans – this time spending most of our time in Belgrade, Serbia and Sarajevo, Bosnia.

We’d had such a lovely time in Sofia on our running tour that it made sense to look for something similar on this trip.  So into the depths of the Google I went.  Finally, I stumbled upon the Sarajevo Half Marathon’s website, and within that, a small blurb advertising running tours.  I promptly reached out to Erol Mujanovic, the director of the event, and he agreed to take us on a private tour on January 2nd.  In Georgia, at least, January 2nd is called “Resolutions Day,” and your actions on that day are said to set the tone for your entire year.  Given that the year previous we’d spent the day in a religious zealot’s car zipping around former Soviet boomtowns in the Georgian Caucasus, we figured a 10k in Sarajevo wouldn’t cause any bad omens.

Erol met us early on a frosty morning (it was literally 25 degrees out), in front of Vijecnica (Sarajevo’s Moorish-inspired City Hall) and we were off.  If I hadn’t already fallen for Sarajevo, this was the time to do it.  Despite being freezing, there was a sense that we were witnessing the city wake up, and evidence of inhabitants stirring was about as we ran through the Bascarsija toward the Hapsburg part of town.

We ran past the Eternal Flame and a Sarajevo Rose or two before hitting the area around the American Embassy and Holiday Inn Hotel.  In a matter of less than five minutes and under a mile, we’d managed to run through Post-Independent, Yugoslav, Hapsburg, and Ottoman Sarajevo.  This architectural layering of periods was what most endeared me to the city, where walking from one end to the other is like sifting through layers of rock from different geologic periods.

From there we turned south to cross the Miljacka River.  Erol had been a child during the Siege of Sarajevo and the Yugoslav war, and told us of the different atrocities he had personally witnessed as a child.  It was extremely powerful to be running in an area rich with such recent traumatic history.

The run had been great so far, and Erol proposed we extend it into the mountains east of the city.  Not wanting to lose face or hurt my masculine ego, I agreed against my better inentions.  We ended up running an additional 10k out of the city, up significant elevation and past the snowline, and crossing into Republika Srpska.  I was getting tired, and rolling my ankles like nobody’s business.  And exhaustion, coupled with early stage injury, is a great ingredient for sass.

So here we were, on icy trails in the mountains surrounded by barbed wire and signs warning of live mines, and I’m having a temper tantrum.  I let David and Erol run in front of me for a spell, not wanting to be a complete bitch.  But, as it turns out, misery loves company and I’m not very great at masking emotions.

We saw some amazing things on our run on the trails outside the city, though, including a very old Roman bridge that had been part of the road to Constantinople during the Byzantine Empire.  If only my ankle hadn’t been the size of my knee, I think I would have enjoyed it!

We made it back to our airbnb by dead reckoning down the icy streets of Sarajevo’s Alifakovac neighborhood.  I apologized profusely to Erol, who insisted on giving us a discount, likely due to my shitty attitude.  But here I am screaming his praises, hoping that makes up for it.  If you are a runner and traveling to Sarajevo, take a running tour with Erol.  He is not only a fantastic coach, but incredibly intelligent, and a pleasure to run with.  Or if you can, run the Sarajevo Half-Marathon – I know that someday David and I will return to do so.

Anyway, the sad news is that I broke my foot and haven’t been able to run this year.  The great news is that we made a great friend, were able to get interesting insider insights into life in Sarajevo pre and post Yugoslav war, and we saw more of the city than most – all on foot, despite me breaking mine.  I’d say in the future, I’d like to learn to check my male ego when necessary, but…that isn’t very likely to happen.

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