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The Running of the Bulls is the highest profile event of the San Fermin festival, which is held every year from July 7–14. It is a practice that involves running in front of six bulls that have been let loose, on a course of a sectioned-off subset of a town's streets. The average duration is around four minutes. Unlike bullfights, which are performed by professionals, anyone may participate in an encierro. Spanish lore says the true origin began in North-eastern Spain during the early 14th century.
The first bull running is on July 7, followed by one on each of the following mornings of the festival, beginning every day at 8am. Being over eighteen and entering the itinerary before 7:30 are the main requirements to participate. Other prohibitions are to run under the influence of alcohol, run in the opposite direction of the running or inciting the bulls.
Before the running of the bulls, a set of wooden or iron barricades is erected to direct the bulls along the route and to block off side streets. There may be a double row of barricades along the route to allow runners to quickly exit in case of danger. The gaps in the barricades are wide enough for a person to slip through, but narrow enough to block a bull. Runners dress in the traditional clothing of the festival which consists of a white shirt and trousers with a red waistband and neckerchief. In one hand, they hold the day's newspaper rolled to draw the bulls' attention from them if necessary.
The herd is composed by the six bulls to be fought in the afternoon and six steers, which run with the bulls and three more that leave the corral two minutes later. The function of the oxen is to guide the herd and all the days of the festival are the same. The average speed of the herd is 24 km/h (15 mph).
The length of the run is 826 meters (.513 miles) and goes through 4 streets of the old part of the village (Santo Domingo, Town Hall Square, Mercaderes and Estafeta) and a section called "Telefónica" before entering into the bullring. The fastest part of the route is up Santo Domingo and across the Town Hall Square, but the bulls often became separated at the entrance to Estafeta Street as they slow down. One or more would slip going into the turn at Estafeta, but with the use of the new anti-slip surfacing, most of the bulls negotiate the turn onto Estafeta and are often ahead of the steers. This has resulted in a quicker, but not safer run as the bulls are usually out ahead of the steers as they reach the lane.
Every year between 200 and 300 people are injured during the run although most injuries are contusions due to falls and are not serious. Since 1910, 15 people have been killed in Pamplona.
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