[=“times new roman”]OH YES … I DID THE RUN![/]
[=“times new roman”]By The Pamplona Posse[/]
[=“times new roman”]The Fiesta San Fermin was a lot of fun. The city was completely taken over by international visitors so there wasn’t much Spanish culture to enjoy, but the party was quite a party. When I arrived and the smell of urine was everywhere, I thought I would never make it through 3 days. By the end of our time in Pamplona the constant sound of Euro-techno-disco, travelling bands and partiers took over as number one annoyance. I seriously was craving silence. The music and noise was really loud and took place from about noon until 10 am. We had about 2 hours (10 – 12) in the morning with relative quiet. Our flat was apparently quiet coveted by the people who come down for this year after year. People kept saying “oh, you got the good room”. It was sort of MTV “Real World” in Pamplona –ish! When we left, a film crew and the Scottish co-star (bad-guy) with long black hair from Mission Impossible (1 or 2 – I can’t remember) were going to be in our room. The location was excellent we were only a block from the central locale … really convenient! I’m sure the noise was worse because of that, but a lot of people had 20 minute walks, cabs, and buses to deal with. I really appreciated being able to duck in there when I needed to. Allyson and I weren’t into the sidewalk toilet thing – unlike many of the other thousands and thousands of fiesta partiers.[/]
[=“times new roman”]THE RUN – Yes I did it. Our first morning there. Monday, I RAN. We spent all day Sunday studying the route and talking with these guys – Ally and I decided they were like our summer camp friends. We had booked our travel through one of them (Graeme – he’s run it for 25 years) so they sort of adopted us into their group. They told us all the do’s and don’ts. They told us which parts of the run were good or bad and why. They told us what aggravates and attracts the bulls. The two big rules are #1 don’t get up if you fall … don’t even move a muscle until someone taps you on the shoulder to tell you it’s over. And #2 … don’t move if they are separated or down … they won’t even look at you if you are perfectly still. They are looking for a moving victim. Most people run only about 50 – 100 yards of the course. (we did about 60) The big thing to do if you are really going to Run WITH the Bulls … is to wait til they are there and then run. You don’t just run down the street a half mile ahead of them – that’s the wanker run! We started out just past this terrible corner where they tend to fall down and gore people – called Hamburger Corner. Where we started you can’t see down the street to see when they come – so you have to watch the balconies above and look for cameras to flash. When the cameras begin to flash you know they are on the way. So we are standing there and hundreds of people run by with wild eyed faces yelling “they are coming they are coming”. One of the hardest things is not to run at this point, It seems only logical to get the heck out of there at this point.[/]
[=“times new roman”]But, we didn’t cause we wanted a true run… insanity! So we saw the flashes and in a split second we see bulls … Graeme yelled run now. And I’m thinking; oh, now we run … it seemed a bit late. So we ran like crazy. And it’s not a bit about fitness or running … it’s purely the skill of staying the heck out of the way. The bulls stay pretty much in the centre of this small old village street but if they get separated anything goes. My goal was to stay an arms length from the buildings. So I was trying to get around people without knocking anyone over and trying to manage not getting rerouted to the centre of the road. Then the bulls were quite close behind us and Graeme heard that one of them was separated. I think in his 25 years he has at some time regained ability to use all his senses throughout this. For me I could hear and see little … it was such a blur of excitement. The only voice I could hear was Graeme’s and when he said get against the wall; I was there so without hesitation and smashing myself into a doorway as they ran by – I yanked Allyson into the doorway with me and we didn’t move a muscle. Oh – I sort of shielded myself with her body … I sort of felt weird about that … I was thinking, if she gets gored I’ll feel really bad. It wasn’t on purpose it just worked out that way. Graeme, Allyson and I were smashed into this doorway – me at the back – Allyson facing me, couldn’t see the bulls RIGHT behind her. All I could see was a sea of bodies – bull and men – and in the blur was this very large, very pointy horn, clear, the only thing completely clear to my eyes, and far tooo close. Allyson could only see my face with eyes showing the look of pure terror and I’m breathing totally fast and shallow and she’s saying – I want to turn around, I want to turn around, and Graeme is saying you can’t you can’t… the third time she says she wants to turn around … as I’m clutching her tighter than I have ever held anyone’s body … I finally find my vocal cords and breathe ever so heavily “don’t move!”. Just then, Graeme yells “Run” (as that little grouping had essentially cleared us – but barely) … I’m thinking Oh my gawd … So, we ran and like crazy …. we turn the next corner and the next few taurine bodies just behind us … Graeme yells “Get Out” as he dives through the barricade. I stop and say “really?” and he’s saying Yes – I slipped through and commenced celebrating! I felt extreme victory!!! Allyson jumps through and says “Is that it?” The entire ordeal is over in less than a three minutes … it is extremely fast and furious. For me it seemed like a week. And for me we were much closer than I ever thought we’d be and it was a complete rush!!!!! It was Allyson’s life long dream … I went along for the ride … and it was a great ride!!! I then spent the next two days celebrating our coolness. And what a celebration it was. (To contact the Pamplona Posse check out www.pamplona.co.uk)[/]