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edmundo, ive decided im coming next year. I have a HD helmet cam/headcam so well get some sick POV video.
Sounds like fun. Only thing worried about do the actually have good hospitals there?
Looks like a blast.
I seem to remember there being stages. I take it you were in the middle stage? What sort of people start directly in front of the bulls? haha does anybody make that decision sober?
I found that the best place to start is as near to the starting line as you can get (against the wall - never in the middle of the pack). When they give the green light, hang back while the chickenshits run to the ring. The crowd thins out a lot, and by being near the front you have your choice of positions when the bulls actually hit the streets. I've watched some video of the guys who start right in front of the bulls and, frankly, it's pretty boring. The bulls run right past them, and the runners won't even make it to the ring before it's sealed unless they haul ass.
Edmundo, another great tale. I am already planning my trip for next year's run...
amazing post
people like you are the reason why everyone hates americans.
also, loki, spanish hospitals are a lot better than american hospital lolz. so ignorant!
noonies - go fuck yourself
How many people actually get hurt doing this each year, and how severely? Do people die?
I always thought that the running of the bulls was kind of like a roller coaster- sure it looks scary and while you are on it, it scares the crap out of you, but really you are safer than you are on your morning commute. I guess I thought wrong...
Yeah, you definitely thought wrong. But don't feel bad. So did I. It's actually a lot more dangerous than you think. Lots of people get hurt each day, though not very seriously. One guy cut his face pretty badly in the ring with me (he was bleeding like a stuck pig), but the medics patched him up on-site.
This year, 5 runners got extended stays in the hospital. All but one have since been released. The remaining runner had 3 fractures of the lumbar vertebrae, which sounds pretty serious (I'm no doc).
No one got killed this year, but someone did last year. His family put out this memorial on the anniversary of his death and several runners tied their scarves to it:
ballpark how many people were running with you? you said five got extended stays, and i read somewhere else that like 200 or so sustain minor injuries, but would that be a relatively high ratio or do most make it away unscathed?
The number of runners each day has to be in the thousands. Here is a picture of just the starting line taken from a balcony overlooking it:
The vast majority come through completely unscathed. But there's no real strategy you can deploy to ensure you don't get hurt (besides not participating in the first place) because of all the X factors involved. Someone in front of you could go down and cause a pile-up, you could slip and fall, you can have a bull-related mishap, some drunk might decide to break a bottle on your head, any number of things.
I saw a lot of people get trampled by bulls and other runners the day I ran, but they all got up and shook it off. One guy got nailed by a bull just as he entered the ring and wasn't moving, so a couple people dragged him out of harm's way by his feet, but he came around.
Awesome post. One of your best IMO.
That was amazing. Great post Edmundo.
Great post.
Thanks Edmundo. This sounds awesome.
Rick Reilly also wrote a pretty funny article about this on espn.
Here's a link: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=5401912
^^^ Great article, bro. Thanks! I didn't even try to whack a bull on the ass.
[Deleted! No longer relevant.]
I would be more supportive of The Encierro if they actually give the participating bulls a fighting chance, instead of slaughtering them all in the bull fighting after. Perhaps they can spare the bulls who gored the humans and have their injured human victims fight to death at the arena instead. Now that is more consistent with the spirit of the original Gladiator games.
I'm really there with you on this one. I used to enjoy bullfighting in Mexico because, despite the same end result, there is a lot more human carnage. The bulls are actually given a chance to wreak havoc in the Mexican rings, and I've seen picador's horses mauled, matadors gored, etc.
In Spain, it's just pure torture until the bull is dead. I watched one fight in 2010 that just turned my stomach. They tortured this bull until it couldn't even lift its head, and the matador refused to put it out of its misery because it wouldn't look cool. The poor thing just fell over and died.
It's not like you're gonna see me naked on a PETA ad or anything, but I think I'm pretty much off bullfighting for life.
You're a close second in my book after Hemingway as a chronicler of Spain.
What's this about a fanny pack?!?
Great write up! My girlfriend and I ran on the 11th and it was such a rush. Although, if you asked me to do it again, I would decline. Hearing the bells and people screaming once is good enough for me. We're in Spain for a few more days, so off to the beach!
great post eddie, now on my to-do list :) hopefully i'll get a taste of it in 1-2 years
special thanks to jtbbdxbnycmad - you spaniards are crzy :D i absolutely love the culture :)
Function over fashion, baby. Plus, I'm like a million years old.
i fail to understand why anyone would do this, especially someone who has a family but thats just me
Let me see if I can explain.
I've had many near-death experiences in my life. I even used to be in that business for a while. When you experience something like that and you survive as a result of your wits and not just dumb luck, it's a feeling that is really difficult to describe, but it's addictive. It's why you see guys who cave dive, for example, until they end up dead. We all saw it coming and most people wonder why they kept pushing themselves, but once you've been there you know why.
On the other hand, having a family and becoming a member of polite society is stifling in the extreme. There are days I wish I could go back to the hair-on-fire ass-hanging-out-a-cargo-bay-door in Afghanistan days that some of my old buddies never left. In short, regular life is boring.
Now, is it selfish to take unnecessary risks when you have kids? Indeed it is, I won't deny it. But after decades of being essentially housebroken, a guy my age just wants to feel something, hell, anything again. Even just once.
Hope that makes sense.
More pics of Spanish girls please.
Dude, that festival is so NSFW it's not even funny...
Wait. I thought the bulls were the girls pictured up in the first pic.
Great post!
Now you should try running the bears.... lol
2014 WSO meetup - Pamplona???
See you there
This.
I'm sold. I'll have to take a trip to visit my cousins in Madrid.
Did anyone see the video of this guy taking down a small bull in the street? I think this was sometime last month.
We should make a note to resurrect his thread in a few months to see if there is any demand. I'd go.
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