With summer coming up quickly, we start to reflect on our most memorable adventures we’ve had during the summer months.
If you haven’t spent a summer in Europe, it’s one we highly recommend. The festivals and activities you won’t want to miss. We spent a summer jumping from the Running of the Bulls, Tour de France, Zurich Festival and more, with one of the highlights being running with the bulls.
For the week around the festival Pamplona is boarded up. If you are looking to experience daily life in Spain, skip Pamplona during San Fermin – if you are looking to participate in a long held tradition of running with the bulls, then come prepared for a 24/7 weeklong party.
What is the Running of the Bulls?
The event began with honoring San Fermin, patron saint of Navarra and the need to transport the bulls from the corrals to the bullring, where they would be killed that evening. Young kids would show off their bravery by dancing around the bulls and taunting them. In Pamplona, the six bulls in the event are still those that are featured in the afternoon bullfight that evening. In recent years, the religious aspect has been mostly lost and the festival is centered on people from around the world coming together to participate in a gigantic party.
The San Fermin festival is held July 6 – 14th every year. The run takes place every morning from the 7 – 14th at 8 am sharp. After two rockets are fired, the bulls charge behind the runners for 825 metres from the corral to the bullring. Although the run usually only takes 3 – 4 minutes, the energy and adrenaline during those few mintues makes it feel like much longer. A third rocket is fired signaling that all of the bulls have made it into the bullring as they close the doors behind them.
Now I’ll pass it over to Josh to tell his story of that one time he ran with the bulls…
We woke up at 5:30 AM to get to the encierro, the running course. It starts at 8 AM and only lasts about 4 minutes, so if you’re late, you miss the whole thing. The girls got in line to get tickets for the bullfight later that evening, and the three guys went to the bull run course. (Women are allowed to run, but the majority of runners are men) We were an hour and 15 minutes early, so we spent the time checking out spots to start, and being incredibly nervous. Two days earlier, two brothers had been gored by the same bull, and were still in the hospital. While waiting we met another guy from Indiana University (small world!) who had come from Barcelona for the day just to run with the bulls.
so there we were… adrenaline building… waiting to run from 6 incredibly angry bulls.
The area we started in was about 40 yards from the double bend in the course, which is supposedly the safest section (we did our research). Our plan was to run up to the bend and be able to jump over one of the fences to safety if we needed to escape some angry horns. The streets were filled with people, until about 5 minutes before the start when large groups of people starting heading further down the course. This could have been either good or bad, good because there were fewer people to trample us, bad because there were fewer people between us and the bulls! At about 2 minutes to go, everyone started jumping around, yelling and getting really excited. At this point, all of our nerves were on full alert, and there was no turning back.
At 8:00 AM, they fired the cannon letting us know that the bulls were released. It only took about 30 seconds until we could see the bulls down the street. We all yelled “El Toro!” and turned and ran with the crowds. As we got to the fences, the bulls were already upon us. The guy right in front of me dove through the fence, and I jumped up after him, right as the bulls rounded the corner and came past. They were so close, that by the time I jumped on the fence, and turned around, there were no bulls. Watching the video later that night, we could see one of the other guys we were running with hop on the end of the fence and we watched as the bull’s horn barely missed his left calf. It was only a few seconds and the bulls were already gone. We couldn’t believe how quickly they got to us and how quickly they disappeared.
Most people try and make it all the way into the bull ring, where you can have your own amateur bullfight with the bull. We didn’t know that they closed the gate as soon as the bulls passed, so we weren’t able to get in. It was pretty wild watching random people try to go one on one with the bull, and by wild we mean pretty stupid. 🙂 Many people who run with the bulls have been up all night on serious drugs or an all-night drinking binge…so you can imagine how that increases their confidence…and stupidity when dodging the bulls.
Once the amateur bull fight was over, we spent the rest of the day wandering around Pamplona. We did go to the bullfight that night, and while we were glad to experience it since it is a longstanding tradition in Spain, It was pretty cruel and difficult to watch. The bulls have been abused and drugged before they even make it to the ring and many bulls are injured during the run earlier in the day by slipping on the streets, so they are already at a big disadvantage at the onset of the bull fight. I understand it’s tradition…but I found myself cheering for the bull during the fight… We won’t attend another bullfight.
Our best tips for running with the bulls
Don’t run on your first day there
Use your first day to watch the run and get an idea of what to expect. Walk the course and scope out a good exit strategy in case of an emergency.
Fear the crowds more than the bulls
It sounds backwards, but the mass of people that surround you are more dangerous than the bulls. Even if you have been smart and come prepared, they most likely have not. If one person in the crowd trips, 10 will go down, and you don’t want to be on the ground when the bull runs by you. Pay attention to your surroundings and be aware of the people around you. Be a “defensive” bull runner. 🙂
Don’t run with the bulls… run behind them
If you want to make it into the bullring, run behind the bulls and follow them into the ring. Avoid running too close in case one of the bulls decides to quickly turn around and make trouble. Once you get into the ring find a safe spot to watch from, I wouldn’t suggest agitating the bull – leave that to people who have run before or drank too much…
Don’t be stupid
If you want to party, do so every other night except the one before the race. You want to be alert and ready when the massive bulls run past you.
Have you run with the bulls in Pamplona? Is it on your bucket list? We want to hear your story!
Hey man, I’m going next week. Do you mind telling me exactly where you guys started (if you remember)? I’m trying to do like 30 seconds to a minute and then bail, sounds like your route would be optimal.
Best Days To Go To The Pamplona Fiesta
Avoid The Weekend If You Want To Run With The Bulls
Over the last 20 years the fiesta in Pamplona has become more and more popular with many young men keen to try and risk their well-being by attempting to run with the bulls through the streets of Pamplona. However the mistake many of them make is to not do any research before they attempt the run. That is like, attempting to drive in a Grand Prix without ever taking a driving lesson. Yes it is pure madness! The running in front of bulls is obviously a dangerous pastime but there are certain factors that increase the risk greatly and obviously ignorance is one of the most important ones. However in recent years, another factor has come into play; this is the problem about serious overcrowding of the course on certain days. The crowds have become so big that on the 7th and on weekend mornings it has become virtually impossible to run. The authorities do their best and they do clear many people off the course, most of whom are the first-time runners. (Another reason to avoid the weekend as many first-timers get cleared off the course)
However even with this forced evacuation from the course, the mornings of the 7th, 8th and 9th this year will still be a nightmare. Many experienced runners have the view that it is not the bulls that make the event so dangerous, but it is the people. When you have a situation of thousands of people enclosed in a narrow street all running at break-neck speeds, then serious injuries will occur even if there was not the added fact of six bulls and many steers also ploughing through the course.
Even very experienced runners have picked up injuries from being knocked over by panicky runners who are suddenly very scared when the course is blocked by crowds and they know the bulls have been released. The authorities have discussed for many years this obvious problem but have come up with no real solution other than to try and clear more and more first timers off the course. This year it will be even worse, as there is only one weekend in the fiesta. There are 8 bull runs in total during the fiesta and if your intention is to travel a long way to come to an event that you have talked and dreamed about for years, then do it properly and hit town for the second half of the fiesta from the 9th onwards. The party is just as good, in fact many would argue it is even better as you can manage to get table in restaurants and get served in bars without waiting for half an hour. It also means that the pickpockets do not have such a field day with the streets not being jam-packet with 10 people for every square yard.
It is also the case that everything in town is far more expensive for the weekend because of the simple laws of supply and demand, whether it is bullfight tickets balcony spaces or accommodation, the first few days of the fiesta will be very expensive indeed. So if you have any degree of flexibility over your dates then avoid the weekend. It is not a good party scene and it is a nightmare, especially if your intention is to run with the bulls.