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SANTO DOMINGO:
The
adventure
begins near the
coral at the
bottom of
Pamplona's
C/Santo Domingo
as the first
rocket is fired
announcing the
beginning of
the day's
encierro.
It can be
dangerous to
linger too long
in this narrow
streatch. You
can almost
reach out and
touch the
buildings on
either
side. If
this is your
first time, you
glance quickly
around at the
faces in the
crowd not
knowing what to
expect.
Suddenly a
cheer goes up
as the rocket
begins its
climb into the
morning
sky.
By now the lead
runners have
inched their
way down Santo
Domingo towards
the holding
pen. Suddenly
they stop dead
in their tracks
and surge back
up the
slopping,
cobbled stoned
street as the
bulls suddenly
erupt from
their holding
pen full of
pent up energy.
Quickly
overtaking the
first runners,
the lead
animals part
the crowd,
allowing the
steers to lead
the way for six
massive
fighting
bulls.
Nervous at
first, the
bulls keep
their heads
low, their
bodies
touching,
forming a
dangerous
wedge. You feel
the adrenaline
rush, your
heart pounds in
your ears, the
herd rushes by
like the wind
and hopefully
you've survived
the ordeal
unscathed.
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AYUNTAMIENTO
&
MERCADERES:
The
route widens at
the top of
Santo Domingo
as it enters
Plaza
Consistorial
and
Ayuntamiento,
the town hall
square. If you
started your
run near the
top of Santo
Domingo, and
are lucky
enough to have
reached the
plaza one step
ahead of the
bulls, runnng
as fast as your
feet will carry
you, you either
dive for cover
under the
nearest
barricade or
continue
headlong,
racing across
the plaza
towards the
entrance to
Mercaderes and
the blazing
summer sun as
it rises above
the streets of
Pamplona. On
Mercaderes the
route narrows,
angling to the
left.
The bulls,
having crested
Santo Domingo
in a matter of
seconds, will
slow their pace
slightly if the
streers are in
the lead, but
the fighting
bulls are
younger and
faster and will
probably have
already
overtaken the
lead steers
before reaching
the
Ayuntamiento,
increasing the
danger.
If you should
go down in the
open, stay down
until the bulls
have passed. A
novice runner
was killed in
front of the
town hall in
Plaza
Consistorial in
1995 when,
after being
knocked down by
the crowd,
jumped back up
to his feet
just as the
lead bull
entered the
plaza.
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ESTAFETA:
Once you
reach the end
of Mercaderes
the route takes
a sharp turn to
the right at
the famous, "La
Curva", which
leads onto
Calle Estafeta,
the long,
narrow
canyon-like
street lined
with shops and
tapas bars,
where the doors
have been
boarded up,
giving you
nowhere to hide
once the gate
swings close
behind
you. This
has always been
a dangerous
spot for the
novice as well
as the
experienced
runner, but
now, with the
use of the
anti-slip
surfacing on
the smooth
stone pavers at
the corner,
fewer animals
tend fall going
into the turn,
reducing the
possibility
that the bulls
will become
separated from
the herd.
But another
result of the
anti-slip
surfacing is
that the pace
of the encierro
has picked up
somewhat,
creating a new
set of dangers
as you try to
keep pace with
the bulls as
they race up
Estafeta.
If you are
running down
Mercaderes
toward Estafeta
you should try
to keep to the
right as you
enter the turn
onto
Estafeta.
The bulls
usually drift
left, carried
by their own
weigh and
momentum and
there will
already be
others waiting
to join in the
run. If you
make a mistake
and find
yourself on the
left side, on
the outside of
the turn going
into the
corner, you may
wish you were
somewhere
else.
If you make it
through the
corner and are
up for a short
run, you will
find that the
safest place to
run with the
bulls is to
stay between
the white
lines. The
lines used to
mark the curb
and gutter when
the street was
paved with
cobblestones.
The crowd of
would be
runners
standing
against the
walls along
Estafeta can
prove more
dangerous at
this point than
the
bulls.
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TELEFONICA:
If you
happen to make
it down the
Calle Estafeta
just ahead of,
or running with
the bulls,
you'll find
yourself at
Telefonica,
which marks the
end of
Estafeta.
Both sides of
this short
section are
lined with a
double row of
wooden
barricades that
directs the
bulls toward
the Callejon
and the
entrance of the
Plaza de
Toros.
Telefonica is
fairly wide,
but the path
quickly narrows
as it breaks to
the left and
slopes down to
the
Callejon.
The pace of the
bulls has
slowed slightly
as they ran up
Estafeta, but
you want to
keep especially
alert here, as
the runners
bunch up,
increasing the
danger,
especially if
the bulls have
separated.
The last runner
to die from a
bull horn, a
third
generation
veteran from
Pamplona, died
pinned against
the barricade,
unable to move
out of the way
because of the
crowd.
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CALLEJON:
This is
narrow
corridor, more
of a funnel,
that fills
rapidly with
bodies and
razor sharp
horns as
runners and
bulls try to
share the same
space at the
entrance to the
bullring.
If you find
yourself here
you want to
keep moving and
never glance
back.
It's too late
for second
thoughts if a
bull is only a
step behind
you. The
real danger
here is if
someone goes
down, either in
the Callejon,
or as you pass
through the
doors of the
bullring.
Several
runners,
including
experienced
ones, have been
seriously
injured when
trapped by a
fighting bull
in the tight
confines
leading into
the
bullring.
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PLAZA
de TOROS:
Once you
have passed
through the
doors and are
inside the
bullring, move
quickly to the
left or right,
keeping clear
of the entry
and the center
of the ring,
and keep
alert.
Give the bulls
plenty of room
as they head
towards their
pens on the far
side of the
Plaza.
Remember, bulls
have excellent
peripheral
vision, quick
reflexes and
can be on you
in a flash.
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