anybody ever done this? it's 903 yards. seeing as my two favorite events are the 400 and 800, this seems like it would be quite a thrill. i'm more nervous about being trampled and/or suffocated by the mobs of people than I am of the actual bulls, though. apparently the bulls run at an average speed of 15 mph, so a 2:00 800. It would be quite a thrill to participate in this.
Bulls are awesome. Watch what happens to the guys that can't break 2:00. Seriously your ability to run is practically meaningless. Guys standing on the sidelines have the bulls taking their time before giving intimate prostate exams.
I did it in the 1970's. It is not a clean event. You can outrun them but the streets are crowded and choked with other runners. I came close to being gored and I promise you I was one of the fastest runners in the field.
I've run with the bulls twice.
And here's the deal. It's scarier the second time because you know just how effed up it is.
You have no idea how fast those bulls are. And they are MASSIVE. Not only that, but Calle Estafeta (the long, straight road you run on before you enter the bullring) is maybe 10 meters wide at the most.
And there are probably 2,000 runners (most of which are either hung over or still drunk from the night before) all fending for themselves.
The rockets go off at 8:00AM... which means the bulls have been released. At 7:58AM, I literally pissed my pants I was so scared.
If you go, make sure you're on the course at about 6:30AM. Wear good running shoes. Do some stretching. Prepare for an all-out sprint. And I'd recommend going about 3/4 of the way up the course so you only have to run a few hundred meters or so before you enter the bullring.
You'll see the bulls around 8:02AM. And when you see them -- trust me -- there's a damn good chance you're gonna brown your boxers. I don't care how tough you are. It is absolutely terrifying.
What do you do when you finally see the bulls? RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! And make sure not to fall down because you'll get trampled by other runners (or you might get gored by one of the bulls. I even saw an American guy get paralyzed (he's better now - a medical miracle, apparently) in 2006.
Just run, run, run and once you're in the bullring, it's not over... because that's when they let out the baby bulls and they are effin mental.
Enjoy!
I did it in 2004. There is no way you can actually run the whole course length if you want to see the bulls at all. You could take of from the start of the "course" through the city once the rocket fires, but if you run your best 800 pace the bulls will never reach you.
If you actually want to run with the bulls, you need to line up at the top of the hill at the start (about 200m into the course) and begin slowly jogging when the rocket fires. Eventually the mayhem and carnage will work its way up to you, and you'll see the crowd right behind you start to surge as you increase speed. There will come a point when you are running as fast as you can (which is not top speed due to the amount of people and the turns) and the bulls will be in sight behind you.
At this point, I decided to jump for the fence and the crowd on the course held me against it about three feet off the ground as the bulls ran past. Other guys near me kept going and some went down but no one got really hurt.
A good way to picture it is imagine the start of a moderately popular 5k where you don't get to line up in the front. You'll have to dodge people, terrain, and bulls.
All that being said, it was the coolest thing I've ever done.