Day 222 – EU – Serbia [Vlasotince to Leskovac]

01/10/20

15km

  From Vlasotince (Serbia) to Leskovac (Serbia)

Europe

The shortest run of the journey, into Leskovac, the first “real” town in days

Though yesterday had been the journey’s longest run at 55km, I wasn’t feeling particularly tired or in need of a rest. But the directional error I made yesterday meant I landed in a place much closer to my next pitstop, Leskovac. I had intended to make today’s run longer, by going around the south part of the city. Unfortunately the road was closed and the only alternative was a mucky muddy road. I chose to remain on the main road and cut the day short.

Sky was grey and low, drizzling with light rain all along, around 10 Celsius. I’m gonna have to get used to it. It’s not unpleasant, I just wish I could see more of my surroundings, which are currently quite covered in clouds.

As I reached Leskovac, I thought I’d run around town until I’d find a place to get new batteries for my SPOT device. I entered a white goods store and explained my issue as best as I could. Luck struck and one of the salesmen spoke english. I opened the SPOT device to show him the damages. Not only did he speak english, he was also very hands-on. He scrubbed off the melted part inside the case. Twisted a paper clip to insert instead of the part that was burnt and re-establish connection. Then placed new batteries inside… and it worked!

I still think it’s a temporary solution and have ordered a new device – but hopefully this will still be operational until I get a new one! The SPOT not only serves to give my live position whilst I run. It is also my lifeline so to speak. If anything happens to me, accident or else, all I have to do is press the “SOS” button to trigger a search & rescue mission. It sounds a bit extreme, but there are parts of the world where it will be useful. And quite frankly, seeing how I was completely on my own the past two days of running, in the mountains, what would have I done if I had broken a leg or fallen in a ravine…? Where phone has no coverage or I am incapacitated somehow, this device will save me.

Anyhow, Leskovac is a sizeable city, surrounded by high mountains and a pleasant place to enjoy an afternoon stroll and a hot coffee. Tomorrow I am running north towards Nis, a much bigger city, where I will get to enjoy a rest-day.

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: