You would think if you were running with the bulls that the night before you would have a quiet night with a good dinner and lots of sleep, especially if the bulls were known to be a more dangerous breed. Nope, not me, I came off a three-day bender with about eight hours sleep in total over those three days. Not a good start right?
The Wait
Anyway, we got to Pamplona and made our way to the street that the run takes place. We had a walk down the entire run to check it out and choose the spots which we were going to start at, me and a couple of buddies chose a spot just after Dead Mans Corner. This tight corner is notorious for causing the bulls to wipe out and become separated from the group, which usually leads to the bull freaking out and then trying to attack anyone nearby, hence the name Dead Mans Corner.
We made our way back to the main square where the police lock everyone in like sardines for an hour and a half before the run starts. This really gets the nerves going, its now you know that its real and you either have to back out and become that dude that bitched out from running with the bulls, or stay there and do the run which you’ve been talking a big game about for the past week, naturally everyone stayed.
At 7:50 the police let everyone start walking to their selected start spots, you can feel the fear in the air at this point as everyone begins to realise what is about to happen. The idea that today you could potentially die is in the back of everyone’s mind.
The Run
We get to our spot and 5 minutes later the first firework goes off telling us that THE BULLS HAVE LEFT THE PEN. Everyone cheers! But within a minute those cheers turn to screams as the bulls get closer and closer. When they get to Dead Mans Corner it is absolute carnage, one bull falls over, freaks out and starts looking for people to gore. The other bulls keep running but not for long as another falls over in the middle of the pack and gets up not knowing what to do. Without knowing it I got stuck between these two rogue bulls and didn’t know it until the crowd in front of me starts screaming and running backwards and the crowd behind me was screaming and running towards me, hands down one of the scariest moments of my life. Stuck in the middle with absolutely no way out just waiting for the bulls to meet in the middle. It was so hectic.
I was about 5 meters away from the front bull when I watched it pick up an old man by the stomach, goring and tossing him in the air without even trying. The old mans wife was right next to him and once the bull was done with him it starts to go for her. A man who would have been 60 odd grabs the bull by the horns to try and save this woman. I’ve never seen so much courage from another human being before. The bull flings the man to the ground and leaves him there. He was so incredibly lucky not to be gored.
After the bull is done tormenting on the old people it starts to run in the right direction, this is when I start running. I was running behind the bull within meters before it decides to stop and turn around again! I clung on to the wall for dear life as I watched the bull turn around and run in the opposite direction past me. As soon as the bull passes I head off like Usain Bolt towards the arena.
Getting into the arena is a struggle in itself. it is one of the scarier parts of the course because the street goes from being about 15 metres wide to 5 meters wide at the entrance, so runners start to slow down as everyone tries cram through this relatively small gap into the arena, all with the thought that a bull could run up behind you at any second and stick its horns into you. It was at this point where I seriously thought of jumping the fence and getting out of the run. Luckily I kept running and made it into the arena without any worries.
The Relief
Getting into the arena was one of the biggest reliefs of my life, its at this point your mind starts to work consciously instead of relying on pure fear and you realise how much adrenaline is coursing through you body. It was the single most intense feeling of adrenaline I have ever had and I don’t think I will experience anything like it again.
The newspapers said that the run was one of the most dangerous Pamplona has ever seen with a ridiculous amount of injuries and a total of 7 goring’s, the second highest amount of goring’s on a run, ever. The run was hands down the scariest thing I’ve ever done but if asked to do it again I would in a heartbeat. Nothing will ever beat the feeling of adrenaline I felt that day.
The Bull Ring
Its not a very well known part of the run but at the end of each run when everyone piles into the arena and the bulls from the run are back in the pen, they release younger more energetic bulls into the arena for the runners to avoid getting charged by. These bulls have corks on their horns to protect people from goring. But even with the corks on the horns they still cause some serious damage. I saw 2 people get knocked out, I saw many others get injured and I actually think I saw someone die. The man got flung up in the air perfectly by the bull and landed straight on his neck. As soon as he hit the ground he wasn't moving and the amount of blood coming from his mouth and head had me convinced that he was either dead or was never going to be the same again.
Afterthoughts
I've never experienced anything like the San Fermin festival. The festival is based on potential death. The craziness of the whole thing cannot be topped. The party goes for 9 days straight, 24 hours a day. This little town goes from a population of 100,000 people to 500,000 and turns into a raving cesspool of drugs, alcohol and sex. If you ever get the chance you have to go you have to, its a memory that will be with me until I die. If you ever get the chance you have to go you have to, its a memory that will be with me until I die.