Several of the bulls waiting for the run.
Alright, so there’s been a slight delay in posting this — and there will be more to follow — but here’s your first glimpse of a bull from the first ever bull run in America.
For those that aren’t familiar, first a little background:
In Spain, the festival of Sanfermines held in Pamplona is perhaps the most famous running of the bulls. My grandparents actually went to see it I think the year I was born. Anyway, there the origins of this running of the bulls apparently relate to the need to transport bulls from holding pens to the bull ring and a bunch of young guys trying to show off their machismo would run in front of these bulls.
Well, a company deciding that a lot of Americans probably would like to do something like this but may lack the passport to get to Spain or the funding to do that, decided to create a similar kind of thing here.
Now, let’s look at that for a second and think about it. In Spain, there’s a rich tradition (no matter your opinions on it) of moving the bulls from Point A to Point B, where they will fight in a bull ring only to be killed. It’s been around for at least a hundred years. Some say that the tradition dates back to at least the 1300’s.
Now…
The American version, “The Great Bull Run,” for better or worse is a nearly purely commercial exercise. Something that was developed due to our insatiable appetite for adrenaline fueled activities.
There’s not a problem with that.
In fact, in some ways (for the bulls) it’s a better deal because they don’t get slaughtered at the end of the day.
So what happens in what is being billed as the first ever, American bull run, The Great Bull Run?
People come dressed in their best bull running clothes like those that participate in Pamplona, white shirts and pants, red bandannas. They also come in costumes or goofy outfits.
The enter the course, roughly a 1/4 mile of race track with dirt and fences to help control the animals.
The rules are read: no intoxicated persons, jump out of the course if you must, get out of the way of the bulls, don’t touch the bulls, if you fall — cover your head, don’t trip your fellow runners.
Then they release the bulls.
People run, people jump, and generally ask and want for more.
Now, I’ve never run in Pamplona, and I’ve never run in front of a bull… they apparently can go up to 35 mph, and I don’t think I’d want to run in front of a bull.
But it was certainly entertaining to watch.
Life in the Fatherhood 