RUNNING WITH THE BULLS: WAITING AT DEAD MAN'S CORNER

7 am

On the 5th day of the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, Spain a wave of excitement and anticipation floods my body as I wait for the rocket to be fired signifying the release of the bulls.  The crowd reciting "A San Fermin Pedimos, por ser nuestro patron, nos guie en el encierro, dandonos su bendicion."  (San Fermin, we ask you to be our patron, to guide us in the encierro, to give us your blessing.)

7:15

I could see FEAR glazed over the eyes of my fellow runners.  Until this moment I never allowed myself to realize the actual danger associated with participating in the running of the bulls.  But not running is not an option.  This is why I am here.

7:30

Doubt. Maybe I shouldn't run TODAY.  Had it rained the night before?  The cobblestone street seems dangerously slippery.  Maybe I should run tomorrow?  I should watch the run to better strategize- where to exit and what side I should run on.  No, you have to run TODAY.  Reasoning. The bull runs have claimed only 15 lives since 1924.   The train ride from Madrid to Pamplona was more dangerous than the running of the bulls.  You have to run TODAY!

7:45

 As men shared their stories of running with the bulls, gripping their rolled up newspapers, their only defense against the bulls, I could feel the tension mounting, the fear circulating, and the excitement moving through my fellow runners.  If you fall down stay down.  Better to be trampled than gored. These WARNINGS echoed over and over again throughout the crowd.

7:59

Breathe.  Capture THIS feeling.  Capture THIS moment.

8:00

BANG! The bulls are released. The crowd roars with fear and excitement. Another BANG! The last bull has left the bullpen. Don't run yet, Don't run yet.  I want to see the bulls.  I want to feel REAL fear.  I NEED that adrenaline rush that you can only get if your life is in danger. 

8:01

The faint screams of fellow runners that were once in the distance now pierce my ears.  The thunderous hooves of the bulls charging forward tearing though the cobblestone like jackhammers.  Adrenaline rips through my  entire body.  Run! Run!  Don't look back.

8:02

I'm running for my LIFE. 

8:03

The crowd ERUPTS in cheers as we enter the bullring.  I feel like a gladiator running into the coliseum.  Fear and Anticipation is replaced with Relief and Celebration.  Total strangers embracing each other in camaraderie, we are all part of this unique experience joined in sister and brotherhood of the few who can say "I ran with the bulls in Pamplona".

The half-mile bull run was exhilarating yet terrifying and an experience I will not soon forget.

Encierro de Toros

The running of the bulls began as far back as 1787 as people began running alongside the herd of bulls as they were transferred from outside the city to the bullring for the bullfight.  The running of the bulls today takes place from July 7th -14th at 8 am and involves six bulls, six steers and thousands of runners along a half mile stretch down narrow cobblestone streets in Pamplona, Spain.  Participants must arrive about an hour before the run.  If you are not lined up at the designated area before Dead Man's Corner you will not be allowed to participant in the run.   The actual starting point is the bull corral on Santo Domingo Street.  I started right before dead man's corner but was able to move up past it as this is a very dangerous location.  Many people are trampled as the bulls slide into the sharp turn.  You must have proper running shoes and you are not allowed cameras.   

    

A woman warned me the night before the bull run to tuck my hair into my hat.  She had been told or believed that Spanish men would pull at my hair or become aggressive towards women participating in the actual running of the bulls.  I found this to be absolutely not true.  The Spanish men offered me tips and encouraged me to sing along as we waited to run. Whether sexism exists or not I can't say but it was not my experience.