September the 7th, 2026 – An Australian with Croatian roots has run a staggering 827 km along the Croatian coast in honour of his late grandfather and to raise awareness about a rare disease.
Australian ultra-marathon runner Aydan Marko Papac from Melbourne has completed one of the most demanding sporting feats of his career. It’s one that few would dare attempt: 827 kilometres of the Croatian coastline, from the lighthouse in Savudrija to Punta Oštro on Prevlaka. Morski reports that it was a feat of sheer endurance, Croatian solidarity and humanity, dedicated to his late grandfather Jandro and to raising awareness of the dreadful Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
Aydan set off from Savudrija on the 24th of August at 05:00, with the ambitious goal of running the entire Croatian coast in a mere ten days. Ahead of him lay 827 kilometres, which implied over 80 kilometres of running every day. That is almost two marathons daily, in the intense Croatian summer heat, plagued with fatigue, pain and with very minimal recovery time.
As he approached Zadar, Aydan’s body began to show the consequences of effort pushed beyond human limits. Due to severe dehydration and significant sodium loss, he had no choice but to stop and receive medical help before he could safely continue, losing more than a full day of running in the process. For most people, that would have been reason enough to give up. For Aydan, it became just another obstacle he was determined to overcome in order to finish the ten-day challenge.
After passing through Dubrovnik on the final stretch, Aydan reached Prevlaka and finally Punta Oštro, the southernmost tip of Croatia, on Thursday, the 3rd of September. With his own feet, he connected the westernmost and southernmost points of the Croatian coast and completed more than 800 kilometres. At the finish line, emotions, hugs, tears of joy and the Croatian flag best showed how much this journey meant to him, his family and the people who supported him along the way.
raising awareness of the devastating Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD)
Behind the sporting challenge there was a much deeper story from the very beginning. Aydan dedicated the endeavour to the memory of his grandfather Jandro Bilić, who suffered from a rare and severe neurodegenerative prion disease called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). Aydan turned his personal loss into a humanitarian mission: through running, to raise awareness of the disease, support those affected and their families, and connect his Australian homeland with Croatia, the country of his family’s roots. Alongside him throughout this exhausting journey was his wife Georgia, his greatest personal support, as well as family, friends, coaches, cameramen and members of the support team: Jack Colletta (team leader), Ben Cherry (physiotherapist / medical support) and Ramsen Kunda (logistics leader). His journey was also followed by his mother Ana (originally from Tomislavgrad), father Smiljan (originally from Stolac) and sister Mimi. The expedition was filmed by Australian filmmaker Rhidian Scott-Towers of Fourth Lane Media, who will produce a documentary about this brave initiative.
dubrovnik refused to let him run alone
A particularly emotional part of the challenge took place in the Dubrovnik area, where local triathletes and runners joined Aydan. On a stretch of approximately ten kilometres, from Zaton to the viewpoint above Dubrovnik, the following athletes ran with him: Željko Cota, Zoran Ateljević, Davorin Krešić, Igor Krmek, Marin Desnica (all from Triathlon Club Dubrovnik or Hybrid Team Dubrovnik) and Jasmin Husejnović. Zoran Ateljević did not stop there, he rejoined Aydan and ran a full 25 kilometres with him from the Dr. Franjo Tuđman Bridge to Cavtat. Later, Elvis Jelčić and Vasily Belousov also joined the Australian team.
A major role in connecting Aydan’s team with the Dubrovnik running community was played by Alen Bošković, Secretary General of the Dubrovnik Sports Community and Director of Du Motion. After direct communication and a request from the Majestic Film organisational team and ICAN representatives, Bošković helped gather and coordinate local athletes so that Aydan would not be alone in the dark during the final kilometres. It was a moment that best showed what sport can mean, people who may not even have known Aydan beforehand came out onto the road and shared part of his burden with him. Steve Ravić, Director of PR and organisation for all needs in Croatia, said: “When I witnessed it, I felt the emotion like in the film ‘Rocky’, when the city joined him to lift him up. In the last 30 kilometres there were even moments when Aydan could barely walk. It was hard to watch. At the moment he continued, a black dog appeared out of nowhere and followed him all the way to the very end.”
an official reception in dubrovnik
Dubrovnik was the last major city stop before the final stretch through Konavle towards Prevlaka near the Montenegrin border. Dubrovnik Mayor Mato Franković greeted Aydan via video message, supported the organisation of the reception and congratulated him on the achievement. Due to official duties the mayor unfortunately could not attend in person. The City of Dubrovnik was officially represented by Deputy Mayor Velibor Puzović and Ana Hrnić, the official authorised to temporarily perform the duties of Head of the Administrative Department for Tourism and Sport.
Puzović congratulated Aydan, emphasising that such a feat requires not only exceptional physical fitness but also enormous mental strength and perseverance, and particularly highlighted the value of linking a sporting challenge with a humanitarian message and the memory of his late grandfather. The City of Dubrovnik expressed pride that Dubrovnik hosted Aydan on the last major city stage of his journey. Frano Soldo, a friend of Steve Ravić and owner of Hard Rock Cafe Dubrovnik, kindly hosted the team inside the Old Town.
an enormous organisational effort
A challenge of this magnitude was not just about running. Behind Aydan and his immediate support team there was an extensive multi-day organisation process that began even before his arrival in Croatia and before the official start of the project. The Majestic Film team was involved from the very beginning and started organising and coordinating key elements in advance – communication with cities and local authorities, institutions, media and journalists, sports and running clubs, local contacts, and people who needed to provide support along the entire route.
An important organisational, communication and media role was played by the Majestic Film team, led by Steve Ravić, CEO of Majestic Film and President of ICAN – International Croatian Artists Network. Ravić and the team worked before Aydan’s arrival on building the necessary network of contacts and support and coordinated communication with local authorities, cities, institutions, offices, media, journalists and other relevant partners along the route. During the challenge itself this coordination continued day by day, depending on Aydan’s progress and changes to the route, and included the organisation of media activities, support from sports clubs and runners, and official meetings, including the final communication and reception in the City of Dubrovnik.
Vesna Trokter, as part of the Majestic Film organisational team and ICAN representative, was involved in the project even before the start of the run and was responsible for coordination with the media, runners, running and sports clubs and local contacts. It was through her communication in the Dubrovnik area that cooperation was established with Alen Bošković, after which Dubrovnik runners and triathletes joined Aydan on the final kilometres.
Petra Antolić, Head of Sponsorship and Public Relations at Majestic Film, was also involved before the start of the challenge and actively worked on PR, distribution of information and materials, communication with institutions and the media, and coordination of activities related to Aydan’s arrival and his attempt to set a world record.
In this way Majestic Film did not act only as media support during the run, but from the very beginning was one of the main organisational and communication drivers of the project in Croatia, working on preparations even before Aydan’s arrival and continuing coordination until he reached the finish line on Prevlaka.
Support for Aydan’s mission was also provided by the Central State Office for Croats Abroad and the Croatian Heritage Foundation, including their branch in Pula. In Pula, after the first stage of more than 90 kilometres, he was welcomed by Barbara Buršić, head of the Pula branch of the Croatian Heritage Foundation.
more than a record
At the end of this journey the numbers say a lot: 827 kilometres, ten days of almost continuous movement, several times more than 100 kilometres in a single day, and the entire Croatian coast behind his back. But the numbers do not say everything. They do not speak of the pain and fatigue. They do not speak of the kilometres when the body wants to stop and the mind has to find a reason for one more step. They do not speak of the wife waiting by the roadside, nor of the mother who holds her breath every time he gets up, nor of the family members and team, the proud father and sister who hide the tension they feel in difficult moments, nor of the people who run beside him or the strangers who cheer him on as he passes through their town.
They also do not speak of the work behind the scenes – the calls, messages, emails, arrangements, media coordination and the people who, even before his arrival in Croatia, began building the network of support that accompanied him all the way to the south of the country.
And above all, they do not say enough about the reason Aydan set out, and that is for Grandpa Jandro.
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