Flattened against the fencing

A spectacular second running of the bulls in this year’s Sanfermin fiestas with bulls from the Miura breeding-ranch. The six bulls ran together and behaved with their characteristic nobleness until they reached the entrance to the bull ring where one bull tripped over another one which had already fallen and on rising to their feet they charged against some runners on both sides of the fencing. The run took 3 min. 43 sec. and it seems that one runner was taken off to hospital with injuries from gorings and eight more with diverse injuries.

The second running of the bulls also started a little later than the programmed time of 8.00 am. The bulls came out in a tight pack from the Santo Domingo pens and they moved at a fast pace despite the packed crowds in today’s running of the bulls. A small pile-up of fallen bodies formed at the top of the slope on the left side due to the excessive number of runners. Some of the bulls ran over the fallen bodies.

At City Hall square some of the bulls passed out the bell-oxen and took the lead. The bulls were running at a fast pace and not threatening the runners. Just before Mercaderes corner, the leading bull charged a runner and also caught another one and tossed them both against the fencing. Three or four runners were trapped between the bulls and the fencing at this corner but they luckily escaped as the bulls did not slip up here and ran straight into Estafeta street.

The bulls began to stretch out here and they charged up the length of the street behind two of the bell-oxen. One bull slipped up at the entrance to the street but did not cause any danger. The stretch was packed with runners but some good spectacular running was made as the runners got in close in front of the horns.

The first note of panic took place in the final stretch leading into the bull ring. Here the leading bull slipped up on the right side of the fencing, causing another bull coming up behind to do the same. This bull charged both left and right when it got to its feet and even threatened the runners coming behind. Some runners started to hail the bull – something which is not allowed – and this made the bull turn back several times from its route into the bull ring. This caused some anxious moments and even one of the bull minders also slipped up but he managed to get to his feet quickly before the bull could charge him. One runner was almost caught by the horns of the bull but he managed to push the bull aside. Some of the habitual runners on this stretch finally managed to lead the bull into the bull ring and the course was fully covered in 3 min. and 43 sec.