Running of the Bulls Safety Guide
The running of the bulls is violent and dangerous. Half-ton fighting bulls with sharp horns run at full speed through a packed crowd on stone streets. Every year runners are gored, trampled and crushed, and sixteen people have died in the encierro. This guide cannot keep you safe, and nothing can. It sets out what active runners think about, to help you build your own plan, or decide not to run.
Read this first
Encierro makes no promise of keeping anyone safe, and neither does anyone else. Running with the bulls is dangerous whatever you know, however fit you are and however many times you have run. People who do everything on this page still get hurt. This guide offers things to think about while you build your own plan. It is not a guarantee, not medical advice and not a substitute for the City of Pamplona's own rules. If you run, the choice and the risk are yours.
Encierro exists to connect people who are thinking of running with active runners who are on the route every morning, so they can ask their questions and decide for themselves. We never encourage anyone to run. This page is the part of that conversation about danger, and it starts with the danger.
Is It Safe?Is the Running of the Bulls Safe?
No. The running of the bulls is not safe for anyone, on any stretch, on any morning.
"If you want to be safe, you need to get a balcony. If you expect to be safe, you should not be on the run route, because the run route is inherently unsafe, and there's nowhere safe along it."
That is what Dennis tells everyone who asks. "The first bit of advice for the running of the bulls, the simplest advice, is don't run. If you don't run, you can't get injured. You can't have your life altered by the bulls." The tradition is "inherently extremely unsafe, and it's not required of anyone that they actually do it. It's a willful inviting of extreme risk." So when people search for how to stay safe at the running of the bulls, the honest answer is that you cannot. What you can do is understand the danger, make some kinds of trouble less likely, and decide with your eyes open.
The DangerWhat the Danger Looks Like
Six fighting bulls and six steers, each weighing around half a ton, run the 848.6 meters from the corrals to the bullring in a few minutes, through thousands of runners packed between wooden fences and building walls. A fighting bull is bred to charge; the ones that run in Pamplona average about 564 kilograms, and they move faster than any runner.10 A bull that turns its head into a crowd can drive a horn into a thigh, a groin, an abdomen or a chest. A bull that trips or barges through the crowd can trample people under it. When runners fall over each other, a pile-up forms, a montón, and the people at the bottom can be crushed while bulls try to climb over it.
Most mornings the injuries are bruises and scrapes. Some mornings they are not. "On a given day, the majority of what you see are scrapes. But let's not forget that there are also just abhorrent injuries that happen as well." Every fiesta, runners leave the route in ambulances with horn wounds, broken bones and head injuries; some spend days in intensive care; some never fully recover.
The RecordsHow Dangerous Is Running with the Bulls? What the Records Show
How many people get injured running with the bulls depends on what is counted and by whom, so the figures below say who counted.
On the Navarra Health Department's count, the encierros of San Fermín 2026 left 71 people injured, nine admitted to hospital, two of them to intensive care, and six with horn wounds. Counts like that swing a lot from year to year, so the rates over many years say more than any single fiesta.1
About 1 in 350
Run-starts that ended with a transfer to the hospital complex, 2013 to 2017 (about 2.9 per 1,000; about 2.8 in 2018 and 2019).
About 6
Horn wounds a fiesta from 2013 to 2026, from as few as 2 to as many as 12.
16
Deaths on the city's list, from 1910 to 2009. None recorded on the encierro since.
A run-start is one person on the route for one morning's run; a runner who runs four mornings is four run-starts. These are rates per run, not anyone's personal chance.1
Horn wounds by fiesta, 2013 to 2026
| Year | Horn wounds | Runners on the route (city count) |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 6 | 17,813 |
| 2014 | 8 | 17,126 |
| 2015 | 10 | 16,629 |
| 2016 | 12 | 16,448 |
| 2017 | 7 | 17,126 |
| 2018 | 2 | 14,110 |
| 2019 | 8 | 13,800 |
| 2022 | 6 | 13,100 |
| 2023 | 3 | 16,730 |
| 2024 | 2 | not published |
| 2025 | 5 | not published |
| 2026 | 6 | not published |
Sources disagree by one or two wounds in four years; the full table, with every source and the rates, is in our report on running of the bulls injuries and deaths.
How many people die running with the bulls, with the names as the city commemorates them, is covered in our report on running of the bulls injuries and deaths. The last death in the encierro was in 2009.2
The LimitsWhat the Records Cannot Tell You
Your own chance of being hurt. The rates are per run-start across thousands of people with different stretches, mornings, fitness and luck.
Whether beginners are hurt more often. Between 43 and 65 percent of the runners the city interviewed each year from 2013 to 2019 were running for the first time, but no public source shows whether first-timers are injured more often.1
What next year will look like. One year's count says little about the next.
A rate for 2024 to 2026. The city stopped publishing a count of runners, so there is no rate for those years.
What Injuries Happen at the Running of the Bulls?
Most injuries at the running of the bulls come from falls, collisions and being trampled or crushed in the crowd, not from the horns. Horn wounds are the rarest kind and the most severe.8 One review of the medical response counted 38 horn wounds among 249 runners taken to hospital over five years.9
A horn does not always break the skin; the kinds of goring, and the Spanish words for each, are in being gored by a bull.
Can a bull kill you? Yes. A fighting bull weighs about 500 kilograms by the breed standard, and the bulls that run in Pamplona average about 564; a horn wound to the chest, abdomen or thigh can be fatal, and so can a trampling or a crush in a pile-up.10
Building a PlanRunning of the Bulls Safety: Things to Think About in Your Plan
These are the things active runners think about, in the order a run morning brings them. None of them makes the run safe. Each one makes some kinds of trouble less likely, for you and for the people around you. The step-by-step version, with diagrams, is on how to run with the bulls.
| Think about | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Whether to run at all | Nobody has to. Watching from a balcony or the bullring takes the risk away entirely. If you are unsure, do not run this year. |
| Your condition that morning | Sleep, and run sober. Experienced people rate a runner's condition that morning above their experience as a risk factor, and the city removes drunk runners.12 |
| Being in the right place by 7:00 | Rushing and confusion at the police line put people in the wrong place at the wrong moment. Runners enter from the Plaza Consistorial and wait between Santo Domingo and the Town Hall square until the police open the line. See where you have to be. |
| A stretch without crowds | Packed crowds are where falls and pile-ups happen. A study of runners on Estafeta found that the ones who fell tended to have the most people packed around them.11 Active runners steer first-timers away from the Cuesta de Santo Domingo, La Curva, and the narrowing end of Telefónica and the callejón. |
| When you start running | Running too early leaves you exhausted and stuck in a crowd that does not know where the bulls are. Time it by the overhead cable camera, about four to five seconds before the bulls reach you. |
| Moving, with space around you | People pressed against the fence or in a doorway have no way out when a bull comes up the side. Head on a swivel, hands out, be vocal. |
| A lone bull | A bull separated from the herd, a suelto, is the most dangerous thing on the route. Get as far away from it as you can and leave it to the pastores. |
| A fall | With the bulls a few seconds away, stay down, small, protecting your head; getting up trips the runners behind you. See what to do if you fall. |
| After the bulls pass | Let them go; a bull can turn back. "You are in danger until you're off the run route." |
| A meeting point | Agree where to meet anyone watching, so they hear from you first. See for partners and parents. |
The doorway
The first run Dennis ever watched, in July 2007, showed him why standing still is not a plan. A bull separated from the herd on Estafeta. Everyone moved up the street, away from it, except one man who stayed in a doorway. "The bull saw the only thing that was moving on the street, which was him cowering in the doorway, and it went for him." He was gored, lifted and thrown into the street. He survived. "You don't want to go in with a victim mentality, hoping you'll hide somewhere and the bulls won't find you." More in why standing on the run route is more dangerous than running.
You share the street
Your choices affect the people around you. A friend of Dennis's, "a wonderful runner, who's really dominated the outside of La Curva for the last several years," broke his leg in 2026 when a runner nobody had seen before wasn't moving and stiff-armed him in his line. "It's not just you on the run route. You share it with other people who take the run very seriously."
The city's rules
The official running of the bulls rules are the City of Pamplona's, in its Ordenanza municipal del encierro and its rules for runners, and they change from year to year.7 In short: runners must be 18 or over and sober; no bags, bottles, cameras or phones for recording; no running behind the bulls, touching them or calling them; no stopping in doorways or at the fence; entry only at the places and times the city sets. The police remove and fine runners who break them.
Medical CareAre There Doctors at the Running of the Bulls?
Yes. Every encierro has a medical service along the route, coordinated by 112 SOS Navarra. In 2026 there were nine medical posts on the fence itself, with doctors, nurses and first-aiders, spread about every 50 meters along the route, plus eight more first-aid posts and the infirmary inside the bullring.3 The Red Cross has staffed first-aid points on the route since 1962, alongside the DYA, and the bullring infirmary has its own operating theaters.9 Seriously hurt runners go to the Hospital Universitario de Navarra.
That care is fast and experienced. It does not make the run less dangerous; it is there because the run is dangerous. What happens in the minutes after an injury, and how to find someone who is hurt, is in what actually happens if you get hurt.
Most people who need medical help during San Fermín never go near a bull; the festival-wide numbers, and where to get help in town, are in San Fermín safety for visitors.
InsuranceDoes Travel Insurance Cover Running with the Bulls?
Often it does not. The UK government's own advice for Pamplona says: "Your travel insurance may not cover you if you participate in high-risk activities, such as running with the bulls."4 Read your policy for an exclusion before you travel, and ask the insurer in writing if it is unclear; policies change.
Medical care in Spain is not free for most visitors. The US State Department says so for Americans, and that US government programs do not pay medical bills abroad.5 Europeans with an EHIC, and UK travelers with a GHIC, get state care, but the UK government says the card "is not an alternative to travel insurance".6
FamilyFor Partners and Parents of Runners
The most useful thing to agree before the run is where to meet after it, so you hear from your runner, not from the news. "I certainly don't want family learning of an injury through the newspaper and the media, because the photos can be quite gruesome, and can seem worse than it is, and create a lot of anguish." Easy meeting places are the door of the building below a balcony, or Bar Txoko in the Plaza del Castillo, where many foreign runners meet.
If you have a balcony, do not let it decide where your runner runs. "Think first of where it is best for the individual to run." There are photographers all along the route, replays of the run, and two photo shops in town, Foto Mena and Foto Alberto, where the shots can be found a couple of hours later. And no runner has to stay on the route: they can step off, wait until the run is over and walk to you.
Who You Learn FromAsk Who You Are Learning From
One recent morning on the route, Dennis overheard a father and daughter on a tour of the route. The daughter asked the guide if he had ever run. He had, once, with a friend, years before. "Why are they getting advice from someone who ran once years ago instead of from someone who's an expert?" Before you take anyone's advice about the run, ask how often they run it. The people on the Encierro team are active runners; "that's the criteria, because we believe people should have all their questions answered" by people who are on the street every morning.
What You'll ReadWhat You'll Read About the Danger, and What the Records Say
| What you'll read | What the records say |
|---|---|
| "Between 50 and 100 people are injured every year." | It depends what is counted. The Health Department counted 44 to 92 injured in the years with a published count from 2019 to 2026; first-aid services attend far more people, most for minor problems.1 |
| "15 deaths" or "16 deaths" | The city's own list has 16, from 1910 to 2009.2 |
| "A half-mile route" | The city puts the route at 848.6 meters, a little over half a mile. |
| "Goring is the main danger." | Falls, collisions and crushes cause most injuries; horn wounds are rarer and more severe.8 |
| "Stand against the fence and you'll be fine." | Runners pressed against the fence cannot move when a bull comes up the side. See why standing is more dangerous than running. |
Running of the Bulls Safety: Questions and Answers
Is the running of the bulls safe?
The running of the bulls is not safe: nowhere on the route is free of danger, runners are injured at every encierro and sixteen have died, and active runners tell anyone who wants to be safe to watch from a balcony instead.
Is running with the bulls dangerous?
Running with the bulls in Pamplona is dangerous: half-ton fighting bulls run through a packed crowd on stone streets, about six runners a year are gored, many more are hurt in falls and pile-ups, and no training, experience or guide removes that risk.
How do you stay safe at the running of the bulls?
Nobody can stay safe at the running of the bulls; runners can only make some kinds of trouble less likely, by running sober and rested, being in the right place by 7:00, choosing an uncrowded stretch, keeping moving and staying down if they fall with the bulls close.
What are the most important running of the bulls safety tips?
The safety tips active runners give first are to consider not running at all, to run sober and rested if you do, to arrive by 7:00, to avoid crowded stretches, to time your run by the cable camera, to keep moving, to get away from a lone bull and to let the bulls go once they pass.
How many people get injured running with the bulls each year?
The Navarra Health Department counted between 44 and 92 people injured at the encierros in each year with a published count from 2019 to 2026, including 71 in 2026; about six runners a year suffer horn wounds.
How many people have died running with the bulls?
Sixteen people have died at the running of the bulls in Pamplona, according to the city's own list, which runs from 1910 to the most recent death in 2009.
Can a bull kill you at the running of the bulls?
A bull can kill a runner: a horn wound to the chest, abdomen or thigh, or a trampling or crush in a pile-up, can be fatal, and the city's list records sixteen deaths in the encierro.
What are the most common injuries at the running of the bulls?
The most common injuries at the running of the bulls are bruises, scrapes and fractures from falls, collisions and trampling; horn wounds are less common but the most severe.
What is the most dangerous part of the running of the bulls route?
No public record ranks the stretches of the route by injuries, but active runners steer first-timers away from the steep Cuesta de Santo Domingo, La Curva, and the narrowing end of Telefónica and the callejón.
Is running with the bulls more dangerous for beginners?
No public record shows whether first-time runners are injured more often, though between 43 and 65 percent of runners interviewed by the city each year from 2013 to 2019 were running for the first time.
Is it more dangerous to stand still at the running of the bulls?
Standing still is more dangerous than moving, active runners say, because people pressed against the fence or in a doorway have no room to get out of the way of a bull.
Are there doctors at the running of the bulls?
Every encierro has doctors on the route: in 2026, nine medical posts on the fence about every 50 meters, more first-aid posts and an infirmary in the bullring, coordinated by 112 SOS Navarra.
Does travel insurance cover the running of the bulls?
Many travel insurance policies do not cover running with the bulls, and the UK government warns that insurance may not cover high-risk activities such as running with the bulls, so check your policy for an exclusion before you travel.
Can Americans run with the bulls?
Americans and other foreign visitors can run with the bulls in Pamplona under the same rules as everyone else: 18 or over, sober, and on the route in the right place before entry closes.
Why do people run with the bulls if it is so dangerous?
People run with the bulls because it is a centuries-old tradition of Pamplona that offers a few seconds close to the animals; active runners say the responsible way to take part is to learn as much as possible first and to respect that the tradition belongs to the town.
Once more
Encierro makes no promise of keeping anyone safe. Everything on this page is a set of things to think about while you build your own plan; people who follow all of it still get hurt. If you run, the choice and the risk are yours.
Sources
Every fact on this page that does not come from Dennis Clancey's own experience, numbered as it appears in the text.
Show all 12 sources
- Encierro.com, Research Report No. 1, "How dangerous is the running of the bulls in Pamplona? What the public records show and what they cannot," v1.0, October 2026, and its notes (Navarra Health Department, City of Pamplona, Cruz Roja, EFE, Europa Press). Link
- City of Pamplona, "Pamplona recordará a los 16 fallecidos en la historia del encierro con adoquines." Link
- Orain, "San Fermín health device, ready," July 2, 2026 (Navarra Health Department). Link
- UK Government, "Running of the bulls festival, Pamplona," published July 5, 2010, updated March 16, 2026. Link
- US Department of State, Spain international travel information. Link
- UK Government, foreign travel advice, Spain: health. Link
- City of Pamplona, Ordenanza municipal del encierro and rules for runners. Link
- Miranda Orella, L., and Saavedra, Complejo Hospitalario de Navarra, imaging of encierro injuries, SERAM congress, 2018.
- Álvarez Caperochipi, on the medical response to the encierro, Pregón no. 56, June 2020.
- Encierro.com, the Spanish fighting bull: size and weight. Link
- Parisi, D. R., et al., "Pedestrian dynamics at the running of the bulls evidence an inaccessible region in the fundamental diagram," PNAS 118 (2021). Link
- Mallor, F., et al., expert judgment of risk factors in the encierro, Risk Analysis (2008). Link
Update Log
Last updated November 11, 2026. Every change to this page is listed here.
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- November 11, 2026: First published: the danger first, a clear disclaimer, what the records show and cannot show, the injuries, things to think about in a plan, the city's rules, medical care, insurance, advice for partners and parents, and questions.
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Clancey, D. (2026, November 11). Running of the bulls safety guide. Encierro.com. https://encierro.com/running-of-the-bulls-safety/
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Clancey, Dennis. "Running of the Bulls Safety Guide." Encierro.com, 11 Nov. 2026, encierro.com/running-of-the-bulls-safety/.
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Clancey, Dennis. "Running of the Bulls Safety Guide." Encierro.com, November 11, 2026. https://encierro.com/running-of-the-bulls-safety/.
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{{cite web |last=Clancey |first=Dennis |title=Running of the Bulls Safety Guide |url=https://encierro.com/running-of-the-bulls-safety/ |website=Encierro.com |date=November 11, 2026 |access-date=}}