Watching and RUNNING with the bulls!

Over the next couple of days we had the chance to go into town a couple of mornings to watch the bull runs. We decided that to avoid the crowds that line the streets of the run we would head for the arena where we were able to watch the run through the streets on the big screens and then see the runners flood the stadium from the door out to the street as the bulls chased them in. The atmosphere in the arena was incredible. It is the second largest bull fighting arena in the world and the crowd was so pumped that mexican waves were running around the entire circle five times at least, and rest assured sangria was still aplenty for all in the crowd. After the larger bulls that take part in the run are herded away the spectacle began. One by one six smaller bulls (steers) are let into the arena to have a stab (no pun intended) at the runners that are now waiting inside the bull ring. We all agreed that buying the tickets worth a couple of euro to see this gave us more entertainment then any sporting match we have every paid a lot more money for. There are hundreds of people running around trying to have there shot at stardom by touching the bull and avoiding serious injury, but for the crowds injuries are what they came for. The crowds go wild when a bull charges into a group of people silly enough not to stay out of its way, and when the bull occasionally gets someone and either attempts to gore them right there on the ground or send them flying through the air with its horns the crowds get even louder. Everyone here is clearly on the side of the bulls. This is demonstrated even more so when someone grabs the bull by its tail which is a big no no. The crowd starts chanting "viva la puta"which essentially means you are a bitch, and then they also get met with a couple of swings from the Spaniards in the ring. Obviously the only ones to do this are generally tourists and unfortunately majority Australian. To make this experience even better we got to meet up with Hayley's best friend from back home Ashlea and watch the whole thing with her :) All in all though this was a great spot to watch the happenings of the bull run but it will never compare to ACTUALLY running which one half of this blog decided to do. We have all established that this is Hayley writing so I am going to hand the keyboard over to Jayden so he can recount his experience in his own words ...

The band in the ring

The ring filled with runners

When I woke to the alarm at 4:30am shit had already started gathering in my pants and the hangover that had been at home for most mornings of the festival with me set in. Most of us had agreed to run but as the morning went on the pull outs escalated (I'm looking at you Hayls) and I started to really doubt what I was doing. All week I had been telling campers just to rethink running, as yes its fun but people get seriously hurt and yep the odd one or two may die. Although I was determined and decided to go through with it even with the hangover pumped like crazy behind my eyes. We set off on the bus into town which was 45 minutes away and unfortunately left me a long time to think about how stupid it really is, but the adrenaline started kicking in the closer we got and the more determined I became to have what I hoped would be one of the best experiences of my life. Then before I knew it I was lined up on the sangria and urine smelling streets amongst the the revved up Spaniards in our red and whites. As the time of the run grew closer the vibe of the crowd was ever lifting. Chants broke out and the nervous faces in the crowd grew, those with nothing but a smile ear to ear earlier now became more sober, you could see the thoughts running through peoples heads (what the fuck am i doing!). The gates shut down around the runners and the crowd irrupted. We were let out to flood the track and pick our starting points. For obvious reasons my chosen spot was after dead mans corner. Luckily I ended up on the street below Hayley as she had got cheap tickets from 'Topdeck' watch the run from a balcony that lined the street below. This for me worked out perfect as I was able to see 'dead mans corner' over the crowd. I nervously jumped up and down as I waited to see the 6 bulls, some weighing as much as 620kg turn the corner. 


The cannon fired and signalled the release of the bulls. I looked up to Hayls' balcony and was reassured I was safe for the moment. Runners pushed passed me, pushing me to the wall and any which way for me to be out of there way. The bulls passed the corner and I remember clear as day as my stomach dropped as Hayls and the others all screamed "RUN!". WELL I LEGGED IT!!! Probably quicker than I ever did back in my athletics days. Next thing the thunder of the hooves were next to me, and the grunting as they took the hill. I made it to the top near the stadium and all of the sudden 1 big fuck off bull was running right at me! It had fallen back from the pack, got confused and turned around. All I remember jumping to the side to get out of its way. As I got to my feet thankfully it had be persuaded into the tunnel of the stadium. Nothing will compare to the rush of this run and making it into the stadium with 1000's of people cheering. I stayed in the ring to try my luck at slapping one of the smaller steers on the ass (this is tradition to do). The first steer burst out the gate sending many into the air and goring a couple of others to the ground. It wasn't till the fourth steer I got the courage to coax it towards me and give it a slap as it passed. After it was all done and over I could not have felt more shattered from the massive adrenaline rush, the run itself and then dodging 6 steers in the space of just over an hour but it had been a truely unbelievable experience. This is one of those things I will never forget and will be telling my grandkids over and over in years to come "Back in my youth I ran with the bulls ..."

We spotted Jayden from the balcony!

Here come the bulls!

As mentioned when I was offered a spot on a balcony I jumped at the chance as I wasn't overly keen to run. This also meant I was able to get some great shots and videos (will be posted when we have better internet) of Jayden on the streets below. We also got to go inside the flat of the balcony and watch the carnage on TV of what we had missed from the balcony and my eyes couldn't help but search for Jayden on every stretcher that came on screen. So when we finally found him after the run the sense of relief that washed over me was indescribable.

Jayden in the ring (middle right, next to guy in red jumper)