Daredevils run with charging bulls at Pamplona’s famous San Fermin festival

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PAMPLONA, Spain — Thousands of daredevils ran, skidded and tumbled out of the way of a stampeding group of bulls at the opening run of the San Fermin festival Monday.

It was the first of nine morning runs or “encierros” during the famous celebrations held in the northern Spanish city of Pamplona.

The bulls pounded along the twisting cobblestone streets after being led by six steers. Up to 4,000 runners take part in each bull run, which takes place over 846 metres (2,775 feet) and can last two to four minutes.

Most runners wear the traditional garb of white trousers and shirt with red sash and neckerchief. The expert Spanish runners try to sprint just in front of the bull’s horns for a few death-defying seconds while egging the animal on with a rolled newspaper.

Thousands of spectators watched from balconies and wooden barricades along the course. Millions more follow the visceral spectacle on live television.

The festival kicked off Sunday with the traditional “chupinazo” firework blast after which revellers doused one another with red or sparkling wine.

While gorings are not rare, many more people are bruised and injured in falls and pileups with each other. Medics rush in to treat the injured and take the seriously hurt to a hospital.

On Monday, Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that a few revellers had been injured, but it wasn’t clear if their injuries were from gorings.

Unofficial records say at least 15 people have died in the bull runs over the past century. The deadliest day on record was July 13, 1980, when four runners were killed by two bulls. The last death was in 2009.

The rest of each day is for eating, drinking, dancing and cultural entertainment, including bull fights where the animals that run in the morning are slain in the bull ring by professional matadors each afternoon.

The festival isn’t without its detractors. On Saturday, animal rights activists marched through Pamplona wearing horns and splotched with fake blood in protest against the San Fermin bull runs. Some held up signs saying “bullfights are a sin.”

The festival was made internationally famous by Ernest Hemingway’s classic 1926 novel “The Sun Also Rises,” about American bohemians wasting away in Europe.

— Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain.