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Started By
Message
Running of the Bulls
Posted on 5/2/24 at 9:27 pm
Posted on 5/2/24 at 9:27 pm
Has anybody been to this/done it? Looking for some advice if so...
6
Posted on 5/2/24 at 9:48 pm to RandySavage
Where are you traveling to? Spain?
Posted on 5/3/24 at 6:59 am to RandySavage
What kind of advice are you looking for? I did it in college a little over 15 years ago.
Posted on 5/3/24 at 10:54 am to RandySavage
Did it twice (1995 & 97). What would you like to know?
Posted on 5/3/24 at 11:18 am to RandySavage
I looked at going last summer but it's crazy expensive to find lodging and everything I read said unless you have a balcony I overlooking the course, you won't be able to see anything. We ended up going to Pamplona the week or 2 before the running and really enjoyed the town. The old town is really beautiful , food is pretty good and we met a local one night that took us to some cool dive bars.
This post was edited on 5/3/24 at 1:39 pm
Posted on 5/3/24 at 1:19 pm to RandySavage
quote:
Looking for some advice
Don’t trip.
Posted on 5/3/24 at 1:49 pm to RandySavage
This was almost 20 years ago but we stayed in San Sebastien and took a bus at night to Pamplona. Stayed up all night and then ran in the morning. A lot of fun but have to be prepared to be homeless basically. Whole city rages all night. The running part is pretty exhilarating but over quickly.
If you are young, do it.
If you are young, do it.
Posted on 5/3/24 at 8:37 pm to BlackenedOut
We have a place a couple of miles from the arena. We could walk in to town if needed but what is the taxi situation like on the outskirts?
My wife and kids will be waiting in the arena when i run in, how early do they need to get there and are there actual seats or is it just general admission for people just watching the end of the run?
Where is the best place to start the run and how early should we get there?
Any other advice or tips appreciated.
My wife and kids will be waiting in the arena when i run in, how early do they need to get there and are there actual seats or is it just general admission for people just watching the end of the run?
Where is the best place to start the run and how early should we get there?
Any other advice or tips appreciated.
Posted on 5/3/24 at 11:41 pm to RandySavage
I did it in 2018 and it was incredible.
Impossible. Do not plan on being able to get a car anywhere near the festival.
I believe it is open seating and you do not need to purchase a ticket, I'm not 100% sure. The run usually starts at 8, they should get there at least an hour before.
Generally this depends on the day. I actually got kicked off of the course twice because the cops come though and do a sweep before the run to separate the crowd. If you happen to be standing in the wrong place they will kick you out. The first day i was not able to get back onto the route in time and the 2nd day we were lucky to get in. Try and find some additional info on youtube, but i would say the it's best to be on the route before 7:30 and likely best to start on Calle Mercaderes before it turns right onto Calle Estafeta. The course is a km long, so prepare for a decent run.
The best advice I ever heard was "if you go down, stay down" - a couple of years prior to my run, a guy died after getting gored in the neck while trying to get back to his feet. If you go down, curl up and wait until the crowd has passed you. The bulls will generally try to jump over you.
It's all fun and games until a wave of people crashes around a corner and breaks on a building like a white and red tidal wave, and then turns up the street chased by an 1800 lb muscle mass of testosterone, horns, and hatred moving 35 mph. The bulls are HUGE, beautiful animals and it was incredible to get so close to them. The streets are incredibly narrow, so wherever you do end up, find an escape plan. Look for the nearest doorway or cover you can duck into in case one of the bulls get you in its sights. A friendly spanish kid shared this advice with me right after he showed me the scar in his side where he had gotten gored the year before.
If you are with a group, especially with children, beware that the opening ceremony at the Ayuntiamento is intense. The crowd there is more dense than bourbon street on Mardi Gras. There were times I couldn't lift my arms above my head due to being crushed into so many people. Try to find a balcony overlooking this if at all possible.
Bring several outfit changes and pairs of shoes. It will rain, you WILL get sangria tossed on you, and you will want to do it again. No drug I've taken or any other "extreme" experience I've ever had has ever come close to giving me anywhere close to the feeling I felt running with the bulls. It was the most alive I've ever felt doing anything in my life.
Eta: Such an incredible image. To me, this looks like something out of ancient rome:
quote:
We could walk in to town if needed but what is the taxi situation like on the outskirts?
Impossible. Do not plan on being able to get a car anywhere near the festival.
quote:
My wife and kids will be waiting in the arena when i run in, how early do they need to get there and are there actual seats or is it just general admission for people just watching the end of the run?
I believe it is open seating and you do not need to purchase a ticket, I'm not 100% sure. The run usually starts at 8, they should get there at least an hour before.
quote:
Where is the best place to start the run and how early should we get there?
Generally this depends on the day. I actually got kicked off of the course twice because the cops come though and do a sweep before the run to separate the crowd. If you happen to be standing in the wrong place they will kick you out. The first day i was not able to get back onto the route in time and the 2nd day we were lucky to get in. Try and find some additional info on youtube, but i would say the it's best to be on the route before 7:30 and likely best to start on Calle Mercaderes before it turns right onto Calle Estafeta. The course is a km long, so prepare for a decent run.
The best advice I ever heard was "if you go down, stay down" - a couple of years prior to my run, a guy died after getting gored in the neck while trying to get back to his feet. If you go down, curl up and wait until the crowd has passed you. The bulls will generally try to jump over you.
It's all fun and games until a wave of people crashes around a corner and breaks on a building like a white and red tidal wave, and then turns up the street chased by an 1800 lb muscle mass of testosterone, horns, and hatred moving 35 mph. The bulls are HUGE, beautiful animals and it was incredible to get so close to them. The streets are incredibly narrow, so wherever you do end up, find an escape plan. Look for the nearest doorway or cover you can duck into in case one of the bulls get you in its sights. A friendly spanish kid shared this advice with me right after he showed me the scar in his side where he had gotten gored the year before.
If you are with a group, especially with children, beware that the opening ceremony at the Ayuntiamento is intense. The crowd there is more dense than bourbon street on Mardi Gras. There were times I couldn't lift my arms above my head due to being crushed into so many people. Try to find a balcony overlooking this if at all possible.
Bring several outfit changes and pairs of shoes. It will rain, you WILL get sangria tossed on you, and you will want to do it again. No drug I've taken or any other "extreme" experience I've ever had has ever come close to giving me anywhere close to the feeling I felt running with the bulls. It was the most alive I've ever felt doing anything in my life.
Eta: Such an incredible image. To me, this looks like something out of ancient rome:
This post was edited on 5/3/24 at 11:51 pm
Posted on 5/4/24 at 7:40 pm to weaveballs1
This is an awesome thread
Posted on 5/5/24 at 10:33 pm to HoustonGumbeauxGuy
I'll add to my post to say:
1) The danger here is very real. There was a moment during my run where one of the bulls veered in my direction. It got ~10 feet from me and turned back towards the middle of the street. He he chosen not to do so, I was in a world of trouble because there was nowhere for me to duck into at the point of the street I was in.
This all happened in a matter of a couple of seconds, but remember this moment very clearly. I saw the bull start to head towards me and it was like the street got longer and narrower as he got closer. The sound coming from the bulls' hooves, like gunshots from the cobblestones bouncing off of the buildings, faded away and was replaced by my heartbeat in my head. I was getting ready to go to the ground when he turned back on course and I'll never forget how sharp the horns looked as he passed in front of me. These animals are incredibly impressive up close, and unpredictable. They often stop and turn around in the middle of the route and that is where things can get really dicey.
The danger isn't just from the animals, either. Many times, the biggest issues are caused by people. Someone falls down and it ends up in a massive pileup because there are so many people running together in such a tight space. You have to be aware of your surroundings, where you're stepping, watch what the people around you are doing, and look for the bulls at all times.
2) Unless you really, absolutely want to see it, skip the bullfight. I'm about as far from an animal rights activist as there is and it even made me uncomfortable. I initially believed that bullfighting was just the matador and the bull the whole time, but it's more than that. There are rounds before that of guys whose job it is to stick lances in the bull to sever the muscles in its neck so it can't turn its head as quickly, and to bleed it so it gets tired. By the time the matador comes out the bull is well on its way to bleeding out. The matador does some flamboyant turns, jams a couple of swords into the bulls' spine, and it eventually collapses into a pool of its own blood in the arena. It is then drug out by a team of draft horses before the next bull is sent in to the same fate. The "fight" is essentially just a drawn out, performative way of killing these animals. A lot of times the matador can miss the 'killshot" and the bull will stumble around and struggle, trying to get to its feet. It can be difficult to watch. The last one we saw, the matador actually got gored in the thigh and had to get carried off. I was kind of rooting for the bull at that point.
On the other hand, the entire crowd is wearing white and doing chants and I can easily see why they Spanish enjoy the whole thing so much. The entire spectacle of it is really something. YMMV.
1) The danger here is very real. There was a moment during my run where one of the bulls veered in my direction. It got ~10 feet from me and turned back towards the middle of the street. He he chosen not to do so, I was in a world of trouble because there was nowhere for me to duck into at the point of the street I was in.
This all happened in a matter of a couple of seconds, but remember this moment very clearly. I saw the bull start to head towards me and it was like the street got longer and narrower as he got closer. The sound coming from the bulls' hooves, like gunshots from the cobblestones bouncing off of the buildings, faded away and was replaced by my heartbeat in my head. I was getting ready to go to the ground when he turned back on course and I'll never forget how sharp the horns looked as he passed in front of me. These animals are incredibly impressive up close, and unpredictable. They often stop and turn around in the middle of the route and that is where things can get really dicey.
The danger isn't just from the animals, either. Many times, the biggest issues are caused by people. Someone falls down and it ends up in a massive pileup because there are so many people running together in such a tight space. You have to be aware of your surroundings, where you're stepping, watch what the people around you are doing, and look for the bulls at all times.
2) Unless you really, absolutely want to see it, skip the bullfight. I'm about as far from an animal rights activist as there is and it even made me uncomfortable. I initially believed that bullfighting was just the matador and the bull the whole time, but it's more than that. There are rounds before that of guys whose job it is to stick lances in the bull to sever the muscles in its neck so it can't turn its head as quickly, and to bleed it so it gets tired. By the time the matador comes out the bull is well on its way to bleeding out. The matador does some flamboyant turns, jams a couple of swords into the bulls' spine, and it eventually collapses into a pool of its own blood in the arena. It is then drug out by a team of draft horses before the next bull is sent in to the same fate. The "fight" is essentially just a drawn out, performative way of killing these animals. A lot of times the matador can miss the 'killshot" and the bull will stumble around and struggle, trying to get to its feet. It can be difficult to watch. The last one we saw, the matador actually got gored in the thigh and had to get carried off. I was kind of rooting for the bull at that point.
On the other hand, the entire crowd is wearing white and doing chants and I can easily see why they Spanish enjoy the whole thing so much. The entire spectacle of it is really something. YMMV.
Posted on 5/6/24 at 6:50 pm to weaveballs1
Appreciate it, we are going to one of the bullfights, i don't expect to enjoy it much but feel like i have to if I'm there
Posted on 5/7/24 at 8:57 pm to weaveballs1
I've always wanted to do this and kind of regret doing La Tomatina instead of this
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