There is a misconception that has persisted in amateur encierro discourse for decades. It is the idea that you can position yourself on the run route, wait for the bulls to pass, and still claim to have run the bulls. This is false. Running with the bulls requires movement. It requires active participation. It requires you to be running.
The distinction between running and standing is not semantic. It is the difference between a participant and a spectator who happened to be in the wrong place. Dennis Clancey, founder of Encierro and member of La Unica Pena, frames it clearly: “You should not be standing at any point when you’re on that run route and the bulls are inbound. Running with the bulls means you are moving down the run route as those bulls are overtaking you.” This is not a suggestion. It is a requirement.
What Running Actually Means
Running the bulls is not participating in a festival. It is not being present. It is not surviving. It is the act of moving down the encierro route with forward momentum while the bulls overtake you. Any position that does not involve forward movement is not running.
According to sanfermines.net, the encierro route is “850 metres long” and “winds its way through the tortuous medieval streets of the Old Part of the city.” Every meter of that route must be negotiated with movement, not from a stationary position. The route itself is an 875-meter argument against standing. Santo Domingo slopes upward at a grade that requires forward motion. La Curva is a right-angle turn that only allows passage if you are moving. The tunnel narrows progressively until it becomes a bottleneck that funnels runners forward by geometry alone.
A runner on the encierro route is someone who maintains forward momentum from the start of the run until either the bulls pass them, they reach the bullring, or they exit the route through a barrier. Every other configuration is something else.
The Standing Fallacy
Some runners who have completed the encierro many times begin to move more slowly. They are less able to keep pace. At some point, they may find themselves stationary when the bulls approach. They rationalize this by telling themselves, and telling others, that they have “run” the bulls. This is not true.
Dennis states it without hedging: “People that get on the run route and stand as the bulls run past are no longer running with the bulls. They weren’t on the run route that morning. They didn’t run with bulls that morning.” This is not a matter of age or athleticism. It is a matter of choice. If you are capable of running but choose to stand, you have disqualified yourself from the claim of having run that morning.
The standing fallacy creates a second-order problem. Experienced runners who are no longer able to run but continue to occupy space on the route become dangerous. They are not dangerous because they are old or slow. They are dangerous because they are obstacles. In a run with six hundred other people and six large animals, an immobile human body becomes a trip hazard, a blocker, and a source of crowding. “No one earns a space in perpetuity,” Dennis explains. “Earn it every day by running properly.”
For runners past their competitive era, there are honorable roles. Walking the route before the run begins. Volunteering for the cleanup crews. Mentoring younger runners. Participating in the cultural elements of San Fermin outside the encierro itself. But remaining on the run route while stationary is not running. It is not participation. It is an obstruction.
Movement as Self-Defense
Movement is not a preference in the encierro. It is the only coherent self-defense strategy available to you. When bulls overtake the section you occupy, they are moving faster than you are. If you are standing, they will either collide with you or you will need to move violently to avoid them. If you are running, moving forward at an appropriate pace, the bulls simply overtake you and continue ahead.
Consider what happens in a collision. A standing runner has no momentum of their own. The impact becomes a problem of physics: the bull’s weight and speed meet your stationary mass. Your body absorbs the full force of the contact. A runner with forward momentum becomes less of a target. The bull passes you rather than hitting you.
The Pamplona encierro is crowded. According to reports from Cadena SER and other media outlets, the crowding varies by day and run number, but peak crowding can create moments where every person is pressed against several others. In these conditions, the only way to maintain agency is to keep moving. Movement creates space. Movement creates options. Standing surrenders both.
Doorway Hiding and Separated Bulls
The worst strategy available to a runner is also a common one: hiding in a doorway or pressed against a building facade. Dennis addresses this directly: “People who think they’re gonna stand, hiding in a doorway is even worse when there’s a lone bull or a suelto.” A suelto is a bull that has separated from the herd. Separated bulls are unpredictable.
A doorway provides an illusion of safety. From the perspective of someone standing in one, it appears that the bulls will pass by outside, missing you entirely. This calculation fails when a separated bull, confused or startled by crowd reaction, swerves toward the perceived escape route that is your doorway. You are now cornered.
Additionally, a doorway position marks you as a hiding runner. Other runners see you stationary in a recessed space and may interpret this as a safe position. They attempt to join you. The doorway becomes crowded. When a suelto investigates, you are part of a clustered group of multiple stationary targets.
The only defense against a separated bull is to be moving, to be visible, and to be in the open. A doorway provides none of these advantages.
Space and Responsibility
The Pamplona encierro is unique among bull runs in its crowding and compressed geography. According to reports from as.com and other media tracking encierro incidents, the crowding has been identified as a contributing factor in injuries. When you claim a space on the route, you claim responsibility for maintaining that space safely. Diario AS has reported on the Policia Nacional’s specific warnings about positioning mistakes that runners should avoid.
A stationary runner who is occupying a position that could be used by a moving runner is not just slow. They are negligent. “I have no time for this idea that people are entitled to space, taking up space, when they are unable to actually move, run, and do something. They’re just a liability,” Dennis explains.
This is not unkind. It is honest. If you are on the run route and you cannot or will not move, you are creating conditions that increase risk for everyone around you. A person behind you who is running will encounter you as an unexpected obstacle. A bull will encounter you as an immobile target. Neither scenario is acceptable.
Expert Insight: Dennis Clancey on Running vs Standing
“You should not be standing at any point when you’re on that run route and the bulls are inbound. Running with the bulls means you are moving down the run route as those bulls are overtaking you. People that get on the run route and stand as the bulls run past are no longer running with the bulls. They weren’t on the run route that morning. They didn’t run with bulls that morning. No one earns a space in perpetuity. Earn it every day by running properly.”
— Dennis Clancey, founder of Encierro and member of La Unica Pena
For a comprehensive visual guide to positioning and strategy on the route, watch Dennis Clancey’s Definitive Guide to Running with Bulls, available in 16 languages:
This perspective comes from someone who runs the encierro regularly and who has logged countless hours teaching others how to run it safely. It is not the perspective of someone trying to exclude people or police the culture. It is the perspective of a safety-first instructor who understands that the single largest controllable variable for injury prevention is how runners approach the run itself.
For a detailed walkthrough of the entire route and how movement flows through each section, watch the Definitive Guide to Running with Bulls, a video guide presented by Dennis Clancey and available in 16 languages.
Running on the Horns
The most advanced form of encierro running is running on the horns. This is not the default. It is not what first-time runners should attempt. But understanding what it is clarifies why standing is the opposite of running.
“Running on the horns: running just one pace in front of the bull, not impeding it, but running at pace directly in front of it.” This requires exceptional fitness, route knowledge, and judgment. A runner on the horns is moving at near-maximum speed, is directly in the line of advance of a six-hundred-kilogram animal, and is doing so voluntarily with full awareness of the risk. This is the opposite of standing. It is the opposite of hiding in a doorway. It is the manifestation of running the bulls at its most extreme.
The fact that this is possible makes the distinction with standing even clearer. There is a spectrum from stationary to horn-running. And the only viable positions on that spectrum are the ones involving actual movement.
Spanish Vocabulary
Mozo (MOH-soh): A runner of the bulls. The term connotes participation and action, never spectatorship. Suelto (SWELL-toh): A separated bull that has broken away from the herd. Sueltos require heightened awareness and represent the most dangerous condition of the run. Encierro (en-see-AIR-oh): The event itself; the driving of the bulls through the streets from the pen to the bullring. Corral (koh-RAHL): The pen where the bulls rest before the morning run, located at the beginning of Santo Domingo. Estafeta (es-tah-FAY-tah): The longest and most famous straight section of the route, roughly 300 meters long.Frequently Asked Questions
What if I’m tired or injured partway through the run?Exit the route through a barrier. Do not stand on the route. Exiting when you are no longer able to run safely is a responsible choice. Remaining on the route as an obstruction is not.
Is there a minimum speed required to “count” as running?No, but there is a requirement for continuous forward movement. You can run the encierro at a walking pace if you maintain that pace with intention. What you cannot do is stop.
What about runners who slip and fall?A runner who slips falls forward, typically recovering quickly and continuing. A runner who is standing when the bulls approach is far more likely to require external intervention to avoid serious injury.
Can I claim to have run the bulls if I walked the entire route?Walking at an intentional forward pace while the bulls are inbound constitutes running the bulls. The distinction is not about speed. It is about movement and intentional participation.
Why does this matter? Isn’t safety the only real concern?Safety is the primary concern, and movement is the primary safety strategy. But there is also a cultural element. The encierro is an event for runners, by runners. Claiming participation while standing dilutes the meaning of what participation actually is.
The encierro requires movement. To understand the route layout that demands this movement, read our guide to the complete encierro route. For advice on positioning in specific sections, explore our guide to Santo Domingo.