“The bulls are big and mean and dangerous. They don’t take any prisoners. Luckily the surgeons in Pamplona are experts in treating gorings. After all, they get a lot of practice. You should try to watch the bull run first from the balcony, the day before. It is only then thay you’ll realize the fear, the danger that makes running with the bulls one of the best hangover cures.
It is also a hell of a lot of fun. “
These are excerpts from a video aptly titled Running With The Bulls Is Slightly More Dangerous Than Fishing created by the Pamplona Posse. It’s more than enough to discourage anyone from running with these 1,300 pound creatures! But if you’re living on the wild side, it’s also more than enough to convince you to book that flight to Pamplona- pronto!
While doing my research on the bull run (you didn’t think I was going into this blindly, did you?), I found some forums that asked:
Q: Do women run with the bulls?
A: Women do run with the bulls, however, the majority of participants are men. Locals may look surprised if you are a woman running because it is considered a macho act for men to run, but not for women. With that being said, men or women participants must be prepared to take care of themselves on the course. The fear of a bull chasing someone takes away any sort of chivalry a woman may expect from a man.
There has even been an account of an American girl named Jennifer Smith who was running up Estafeta with her boyfriend when he tried to climb the railings to escape the onrushing bulls. By doing that and with her climbing close behind him, he managed to kick her into the path of an oncoming bull!
Why will you do this?
But first, I would like to be clear on 3 things:
I’m not running for personal glory. Nor am I out to prove anything to myself or to the world. I guess I’m past that age when you do things simply because you wanted attention.
I’m not running to show men how it’s done or that whatever men can do, women can do better. For me, it’s not a feminist act. It’s simply is an act. An act of doing for the sake of doing.
And lastly I’m not running just because 4 other fearless, beautiful women are running with me. No one bullied me into this challenge and especially not the fierce instigator Jeannie Mark of Nomadic Chick.
I wrote the full story of how I got into this challenge on Sole Sisters. But I wanted to write in detail here about why.
I am going to run with bulls simply because I want to experience it firsthand. And isn’t that what travel is all about? To see with your own eyes, to feel the rush, to experience everything yourself?
True, the idea is pretty unusual and not every woman may want to try it or feels they can. Even award winning writer and photographer Lola Akinmade-Åkerström preferred the balcony view rather than the streets and dubbed herself a “logical lunatic”. There’s definitely the potential of danger. But I’m grateful that I won’t take that risk by myself. I’m running with 4 other women who believe that travelling is nothing but a world of risk.
In my 30 years of existence, I have seen too many people make decisions based on fear. People who would rather live vicariously and enjoy the journey from the safety of their living room couch. I have seen people who are too afraid to live because they think they have a lot to lose. And all they lose is life itself. I have vowed to myself early on that I will not be motivated by fear.
Call me crazy. Call me bullheaded. But I will run.
All photos graciously provided by Mark Eveleigh of Parallel Worlds Blog and The Wide Angle.
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
GO GIRLS! <3
Micamyx|Senyorita recently posted..Island Hopping Tour via Islands Banca Cruises Davao
Thanks for the boost Mica!!!
You girls are going to rock! Good luck!
The Time-Crunched Traveler (Ellen) recently posted..Ethical Issues in Travel: Would you take a poverty tour?
Woohoo! Love your enthusiasm Ellen!
I am still calling you crazy but wishing you all the best. Will be following you
Natalie – Turkish Travel Blog recently posted..The Colourful Greek Island of Meis
Hahaha it IS pretty crazy! Thanks so much Natalie!
Am I really a fierce instigator?
Nomadic Chick recently posted..Teaching in China: the Ins and Outs
You know you are lady! Appreciate you for it!
you girls are bada**. Can’t wait to read about it!
We’re excited to share the adventure Ava! A month to go!
Enjoy running with the bulls!
Brock – Backpack With Brock recently posted..Exploring Franconia Notch State Park – New Hampshire, USA
Oh yes we will! Thanks Brock!
I’m not a big fan of the tradition, just because I have too much empathy for the bulls, who have historically gotten a raw deal in general. But I respct what you ladies are trying to do, and wishing you nothing but the best. Come home safe!
Bret @ Green Global Travel recently posted..INTERVIEW: Paula Deen on Southern Cuisine
Thanks for taking time to leave a thoughtful comment Brent! I a with you on your empathy for the bulls and animals in general. And grateful that you understand the need to experience the bull run for ourselves! Thanks for the well wishes!
My husband did this once and hearing his story freaked me out a little bit. I think you’re incredibly brave and hope you love it! Not for me but I think your reasons are good and the excitement must be unbeatable.
Andrea recently posted..Streik!
Haha brave is such a nice word to describe it, thanks for your kindness Andrea! I think it will be one unforgettable experience for sure!
Should Women Run With The Bulls
By Sue Bricky (Member of the Pamplona Posse)
Should Women Run? Having been to Pamplona and watched the running of the bulls for a few years now, many people ask me if I am going to run, or if women run at all. It seems that it is quite acceptable for men to risk life limb and common sense in the spirit of adventure but women are looked at askance for daring to join in. Well I have news for you. It is the twenty first century, women were emancipated a long time ago and we do run with the bulls and some of us are even good at it. Some of us even run with celebrities and if you were quick enough to catch her you would have seen Kelly Osbourne run a few years ago (for those of you who do not have lives she is Ozzie Osbourne’s daughter, celebrity in her own right as well as being the daughter of an infamous rock star (that was for those who have not heard of him either) I do admit though that in the past it has been more difficult. As usual it is a man’s world and trying to get in on any male bastion is always a struggle. It has historically been very difficult to enter the world of bullfighting or bull running, as to be expected. It was previously against both law and tradition and as many women have discovered when trying to enter places like unnamed cricket clubs, and tradition is by far the more powerful of the two. In this, the society in Pamplona was no exception, and the men protected their ground until the gates were forced open by the coming of the twenty first century. It was only a few years ago that running with the bulls was still a no go area for women. We were expected to watch from the sidelines. We were on balconies, behind the barricades, or in more recent years sitting watching on TV. Having been in stuck lying in a hospital bed, listening to news flash of British men being injured, and wondering desperately if it was anyone I knew, and having watched without breathing from a balcony as a friend fell over. I can tell you, it can be as nerve racking watching as running; except it’s without such as intense adrenaline rush. But forget tradition, I will be glad to get down on the run and leave my knitting at home. Unfortunately the law upheld this biased state of affairs for many years. In 1876 when the run was first recognised women and girls were forbidden to take part. This continued, apart from a few notable newsworthy exceptions like the two girls who were photographed in 1950 actually daring to watch the bulls in Estafeta, and the actress Olga Omar, who was given special permission to enter the run to shoot a scene for a film in 1964. It took until 1974 for the law against women bull fighters to be repealed and women to be allowed in the ring. But still they were prevented from running with the bulls, in the streets of Pamplona. In 1975 it was recorded that 3 women tried to gatecrash the run. It was becoming a matter of principle. We want our rights! –and men to pay, open doors, and walk on the outside so they get wet or run over and…… ok you get the picture. Two of these women were led off the course by the police but, one of them succeeded and slipped through the net and ran! Others followed and the number of women gradually increased, although still rare enough to become worthy of notice by the press. In the 1970’s, when protesting was as natural as breathing, women were noted to have entered the course wearing, not the traditional red and white, but t shirts with MLF logos on them. No this does not stand for Mother I’d Like to “sleep with” ; but for Movement for Liberation of the Female! Whatever it stood for, something was beginning to work, and now no one could stand in our way. In this present climate of equality there are many women runners, almost a rite of passage. However if you stand at the edge of the run and watch, or listen to the accents of the runners it is interesting to see which nationalities are either the bravest or most foolhardy. I rarely hear a Spanish female voice on the run but several Brits, more Americans and as for the Aussies –well what more can you say, they have to have a go at everything –just hang around the fountain in Navarria after the Txupinazo and that will prove my point. The downside of all this though is that we have to take the rough with the smooth and in 1990 the first injured woman was reported, a young girl who ran with her father in Santo Domingo (was she mad?) and was bruised by a flailing bull’s hoof. A couple of days later another girl, an American called Stephanie Kern, was knocked down by a charging bull by the town hall and was treated for her injuries (mainly shock) by the medics. The first girl to be gored was a Norwegian girl Anne Karlin Ruann, but by far the worst case occurred in 2001. An American girl called Jennifer Smith was running up Estafeta with her boyfriend when he tried to climb the railings to escape the onrushing bulls. In doing so, with her climbing close behind him, he managed to kick her into the path of an on coming bull. The bull needless to say was not impressed at this obstacle and she ended up with a 30 cm gore in her thigh which kept her in intensive care for a week. They say the path of young love never runs smooth but that is taking things too far. I wonder if they are still together??????? The following year another American girl, Elinzey Sain (or insane?) was gored in the left knee. She is the last reported injury but don’t hold your breath. Bulls are not fussy who they gore, just depends on who is in the way at the time. Our saviours are the gallant, hard working, proficient and efficient members of the Red Cross who line the run. In 2004 they treated 21 women along the course, and that included those who were in with the play bulls after the run. This made up 5% of the total injuries of the people treated so not only does it signify the increase in numbers –it means we need to be more careful! A comment on all this. So far, although I mentioned many runners are Australian, not one seriously injured woman reported was from Australia. Maybe they are too good at looking after themselves – even Paul Hogan cannot get all those crocodiles. That does not mean they do not get treated by the Red Cross though and added in to the numbers. I know one young woman, who shall be nameless, who after needing treatment in the bull ring one morning, went back for quick check up the next day because she fancied the paramedic. Maybe that is how the 5% was arrived at!! Of course let us not forget Frosty, a woman well into her sixties who still runs with the bulls, when she can get up in the morning or if she has been partying all night, she shows that it can be done! I shall not be running this year I do not think, but will support and encourage all those women who do. Let us show the men how it is done. Given the chance we usually have a go and end up better than them at most things (what was it we need them for……… oh ok, some things they are not bad at, so ‘Go on Girls – Give em hell! And if you want to run with the bulls, don’t let any guy stop you
If celebrities do it, I’m sure we can!