Running with the Bulls

Running of the bulls is a widely known event that takes place in Pamplona, Navarre Spain. It is known in Spain as ‘encierro’ however to the rest of the world it’s known as the craziest ‘sport’ in history. The event is one of three main portions of the San Fermin festival. Including bull fights and religious celebrations the ‘run’ is undeniably the most notable part of the festival in modern times and only really became an international phenomenon after Ernest Hemmingway published his book “the sun also rises” based on events from the San Fermin festival specifically the running of the bulls. The ‘run’ really only started in the 14th century but it was illegal until further legalized in the 16th century. The process of the run is really quite simple. The objective is to get the bulls from point A to point B. Point A being the coral in Santo Domingo and point B being the bull ring where the bull fight takes place in the afternoon. The run begins at 8am every morning (from the 7th of July to the 14th) after the praying ritual to San Fermin asking for protection and security during the run. Once the bull gate is opened a firecracker or rocket is fired to prepare the runner, once the bulls have moved towards the runners another rocket is fired to indicate this has happened (a warning). The entire run usually last around 2-3min and is approx 820m in distance, there are several point where bulls have been known to injure runners more efficiently (Dead man’s corner) as well. A third rocket is fired to indicate the bulls have entered the ring and the runners have accomplished the task, a fourth rocket is fired to announce the bull ring gate has been closed and the bull fight is about to commence. A safety precaution is in place as fences are placed all along the route of the run to keep the bulls inside the run area and keep their path towards the bull ring, it is also there for runners to duck into for safety when they are tired and fatigued.

An aspect of Religion