JASMINA Pedic will be running the equivalent of more than two marathons in two days for a cause close to her heart.
The elite soccer player, 22, will run 95 kilometres from Noble Park to visit rocks near San Remo where her father Rasim was drowned.
She plans to reach the site — a popular rock-fishing spot called the Punch Bowl — on May 9. This will be the seventh anniversary of her father’s death, and the first time she and mother Azra and brother Mirza have visited the site since.
With her mother and brother as her support crew, Pedic hopes her run will heighten safety awareness for rock fishers.
At the time, Pedic’s father was fishing with mates in poor conditions. Pedic has little hint of how her father drowned — whether he was swept off by waves or had slipped.
“I have hope and courage that by completing this run for my dad, I will begin to finally overcome the grief and longing I have for my father,” she said.
“I hope to get the message out there so no other kids and families would have to go through what we went through by losing a father and a husband.”
Along the way, Pedic is raising funds for Life Saving Victoria, which is promoting her run.
The life-saving peak body is working on a three-year project to raise safety awareness, including a workshop for the Chinese community on May 25.
“In all cases of rock fishing drowning deaths in Victoria, the victim has been male. They are typically between 35-59 years, and from a non-English-speaking background,” LSV research manager Bernadette Matthews said.
“Jasmina’s awareness raising and fund-raising will make a great contribution to this campaign and important prevention work.”
Details on the workshop at lifesavingvictoria.com.au or call 9676 6986. To donate to Pedic’s run, go to give.everydayhero.com/au/jasminapedic.
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