Pamplona's Running of the Bulls 2000

July 7 -- For a few minutes this morning, as they have for hundreds of years, bulls ruled the streets of Pamplona, while thousands of thrill seekers dressed in red and white did their best to avoid them.

The annual running of the bulls got under way today with several minor injuries — but no gorings. The run, part of the Spanish city’s annual eight-day orgy of wine and bravado that is the San Fermín Festival, attracts up to a half million visitors, many of them spending the night on the streets singing, dancing and drinking ahead of the morning run.

The animals set off each day on a half-mile stampede, from the corral where the bulls are kept to the outdoor arena where they will be killed by matadors later in the day.

Several thousand people took part in today’s run, mostly men wearing white pants and a red sash around their waist. This is in tribute to the first runners centuries ago: butchers in blood stained work clothes.

Two Spaniards were hospitalized, one with a bump on the head and the other with a hurt elbow, after falling during the harrowing early morning dash through the cobblestone streets of Pamplona’s old quarter. Twenty others were treated on the scene for bumps and scratches, but no one was gored in the first of eight runs.

And the bulls aren’t the only threat. Runners jostle and sometimes trample each other to stay ahead of three-quarters of a ton of fury.

Overcrowding has made the runs extremely dangerous. So many people showed up this year that police prevented some from running, keeping them behind wooden barriers set up to protect throngs of spectators.

A Half-Ton of Bull

The six bulls, weighing between 1,000 and 1,300 pounds, slipped and tumbled frequently as they ran with six bell-tinkling steers that are supposed to serve as guides.

A retired police officer from Arizona who was among the courageous this morning said his sprint with the bulls was “the biggest rush” he’s ever had.