Many find it cruel, sadistic, and outdated, but the 700 year old tradition is still one of the biggest annual events in Spain. The festival of San Fermin, or the Pamplona bull running as it's more commonly known outside Spain, is reported to have been around since the early 1300s, but has been a recorded annual event since 1924. There have only been a handful of people who have died in this extremely dangerous event, with the latest casualty falling earlier this week. Daniel Jimeno became the 15th person since 1924 to be killed at the event in which participants run in front of fighting bulls. The killer bull, one of the smaller bulls weighing in at 1130lb (512kg) bull named Cappuccino, fell early in the running and ended up on his own. When bulls go “rogue,” or when they get separated from the pack, is when situations become the most dangerous. When there is no stampede environment or flow the gigantic running animals, a single bull has more time to zero in on a target. Jimeno had major injuries inflicted by the bull’s horns, the most significant being through his neck and lungs. He is the first to die from goring at the festival since 1995.
Before the running, participants are instructed to stay down in the fetal position if they fall. This has saved many runners from being gored. There are several groups that offer help and tips to potentials runners, like BullRunning.com. However, it does remain an inherently dangerous event and there is no amount of preparation that can eliminate all risk. Nine others were injured on the festival’s most dangerous day. Despite all the risks, thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies alike still flock to this event to run alongside the locals. Some say it’s still statistically more dangerous to get in a car and drive to work, but deliberately putting yourself in front of angry, 1300 pound stampeding bulls isn’t probably something the insurance companies like to hear.
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