San Fermín 2002: The Running of the Bulls
July 6 to 14, 2002. The year one of the longest encierros on record stopped Pamplona cold, eleven minutes and fifty-seven seconds with Santiago Domecq bulls on the streets.
Curated by Dennis Clancey
· Founder of Encierro, veteran bull runner
8
Encierros
11:57
Slowest run of 2002
0
Deaths
Looking Back at 2002
Dennis Clancey · Founder, Encierro
Looking back at 2002, the year is defined by a single morning that has no parallel in the modern history of the encierro. On July 9, with the Santiago Domecq bulls, the run lasted 11 minutes and 57 seconds, one of the longest encierros on record.
That single extraordinary run sits against an otherwise turbulent fiesta. For students of the encierro, 2002 is a reminder that the course does not always end in two or three minutes, and that the danger does not end until the last bull is in the pen.
Dennis Clancey, Founder, Encierro
2002 in contextA Year That Reset the Clock
The 2002 fiesta opened with a dangerous, long run: the Marqués de Domecq bulls took more than seven minutes to complete the first encierro on July 7. Over eight days, eight ganaderías ran.
The defining event came on July 9, when the Santiago Domecq bulls took 11 minutes and 57 seconds to reach the corrals, and five runners were gored in one of the longest encierros on record. The Miura bulls closed the fiesta on July 14 with a fast run and no horn wounds. Explore the full record in the year-by-year archive.
Eleven minutes and fifty-seven seconds: one of the longest encierros on record.Morning by morning
Every 2002 Encierro, Day by Day
Each run with its ganadería, time, horn injuries, and notes. The route runs 848.6 meters from Santo Domingo to the ring.
July 7 · First run
Marqués de Domecq
Marqués de Domecq opened the 2002 encierros with a dangerous, long run that lasted more than seven minutes.
July 8 · Second run
Cebada Gago
The Cebada Gago bulls ran a very fast Monday encierro. A spectator was seriously gored in the shoulder, and two more people were lightly hurt.
July 9 · Third run
Santiago Domecq
Ganadería: Santiago Domecq
The third run was one of the longest encierros on record: the Santiago Domecq bulls took 11 minutes and 57 seconds to reach the corrals. Five runners were gored.
July 10 · Fourth run
Gutiérrez Lorenzo
Ganadería: Gutiérrez Lorenzo
A herd of only five Gutiérrez Lorenzo bulls ran the fourth encierro, which lasted six and a half minutes.
July 11 · Fifth run
Jandilla
Gored: 2
Jandilla ran the fifth encierro in 4:20. A castaño bull fell behind the herd and created the danger, and two runners were gored.
July 12 · Sixth run
Dolores Aguirre
The Sevillian ranch of Dolores Aguirre ran a fast and clean sixth encierro.
July 13 · Seventh run
Torrestrella
Gored: 0
The Torrestrella bulls ran a fast, clean penultimate encierro without horn gorings.
What the Record Remembers
The long third run
11:57, Santiago Domecq Stops the Clock
On the morning of July 9, the Santiago Domecq bulls took 11 minutes and 57 seconds to reach the corrals. Five runners were gored. It was one of the longest encierros on record.
The long opener
Marqués de Domecq Opens With a Long Run
The first run on July 7 was dangerous and long: the Marqués de Domecq bulls took more than seven minutes to complete the course.
The Miura close
Miura Closes Without a Horn Wound
Miura closed the fiesta on July 14 with a fast run and no horn wounds, though one runner fractured his skull.
Official Poster of San Fermín 2002
Cartel 2002 by Enrique Royo Romeo.
The official poster for San Fermín 2002 was designed by Enrique Royo Romeo, selected through the annual poster competition administered by the Ayuntamiento de Pamplona.
The Casa de Misericordia of Pamplona oversees the bullfighting programme; the municipal government selects the fiesta poster through open competition.
Source: Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, cartel archive
The 2002 San Fermín official poster, selected through the annual concurso de carteles held by Pamplona each year.
Beyond the runThe City in 2002
The chupinazo fired at noon on Saturday, July 6, opened the nine-day fiesta as it does every year from the balcony of the Pamplona town hall. The fireworks competition, the peñas, the procession of San Fermín on July 7, and the daily bullfights at the Plaza de Toros de Pamplona all ran on their traditional schedule around the eight encierros.
The fiesta closed on the night of July 14 with the candlelit Pobre de Mí.
The recordHow 2002 Came Together
Key dates in the 2002 fiesta, kept on the record.
The lineup
Eight ranches confirmed for 2002: Marqués de Domecq, Cebada Gago, Santiago Domecq, Gutiérrez Lorenzo, Jandilla, Dolores Aguirre, Torrestrella, and Miura. Miura closed the fiesta.
6 July 2002
The chupinazo fired at noon from the Pamplona town hall balcony, opening nine days of fiesta. Runners from across the world began the week of daily 8:00 a.m. encierros.
9 July 2002, History
A Santiago Domecq herd ran the third encierro, which lasted 11 minutes 57 seconds, one of the longest on record. Five runners were gored on this one morning alone.
14 July 2002
Miura closed the fiesta with a fast run and no horn wounds; one runner fractured his skull. There were no deaths in the 2002 encierros. The Pobre de Mí at midnight ended the fiesta.
San Fermín 2002, Answered
How many runners were gored in San Fermín 2002?
Same-day press reports give no total for the fiesta. Five runners were gored in the Santiago Domecq run on July 9 and two in the Jandilla run on July 11, while the Torrestrella and Miura runs left no horn wounds.
What ganadería ran in each encierro in 2002?
Marqués de Domecq on July 7, Cebada Gago on July 8, Santiago Domecq on July 9, Gutiérrez Lorenzo on July 10, Jandilla on July 11, Dolores Aguirre on July 12, Torrestrella on July 13, and Miura on July 14.
What made the July 9, 2002 encierro historic?
The Santiago Domecq bulls took 11 minutes and 57 seconds to reach the corrals, and five runners were gored. It was one of the longest encierros on record.
Was anyone killed in San Fermín 2002?
No. There were no deaths in the 2002 encierros. The last death before 2002 occurred in 1995, and the next after 2002 came in 2003, when Fermín Etxeberria Irañeta died in September from injuries sustained in the July 8 encierro.
Sources
Every fact on this page is checked against these sources. Where sources disagreed, the one closest to the day won.
- El Mundo (elmundo.es, EFE wire), "Los 'domecq' abren los encierros con una peligrosa y larga carrera", 2002-07-07. elmundo.es
- EFE (efs.efeservicios.com), "ESPANA-SANFERMINES El segundo encierro de las fiestas, veloz y limpio", 2002-07-08. efs.efeservicios.com
- El País, "Tres heridos graves en el primer encierro de los sanfermines", 2002-07-08. elpais.com
- El Mundo (elmundo.es), "Cinco heridos en uno de los encierros mas largos (MAS DE 12 MINUTOS)", 2002-07-09. elmundo.es
- El País, "Cornada en el hombro a un mirón", 2002-07-09. elpais.com
- El Pais, "Un toro rezagado crea peligro y emocion en el cuarto encierro", 2002-07-10. elpais.com
- El País, "Dos encierros en uno", 2002-07-10. elpais.com
- El Pais, "Un toro castano se queda rezagado y crea el peligro en el quinto encierro", 2002-07-11. elpais.com
- El Mundo (elmundo.es, EFE wire), "La nobleza de los toros protagoniza un encierro limpio (GANADERIA DE DOLORES AGUIRRE)", 2002-07-12. elmundo.es
- El Mundo (elmundo.es, EFE wire), "Los 'Torrestrella' ofrecen un encierro rapido, limpio y bonito a pesar de la multitud de corredores", 2002-07-13. elmundo.es
- El Mundo (elmundo.es), "Un encierro rapido y sin heridos de asta despide los Sanfermines (UN MOZO SE FRACTURA EL CRANEO)", 2002-07-14. elmundo.es
- El País, "Los miuras vuelan en el último encierro", 2002-07-15. elpais.com
- Libertad Digital (EFE wire), "Fallece en Pamplona un corredor que resulto herido en el segundo encierro de los Sanfermines", 2003-09-24. libertaddigital.com
- Libertad Digital (EFE wire), "dos heridos por asta de toro en un encierro marcado por la masiva presencia de corredores", 2004-07-10. libertaddigital.com
- AP via NBC News, "Pamplona sees first goring death since '95", 2009-07. nbcnews.com
- Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, "Carteles de San Fermin (official cartel archive)". pamplona.es
- Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, "The Encierro (Bullrun)". pamplona.es
Planning your own run?
2002 brought one of the longest encierros on record. For what came before, see San Fermín 2001, or explore the route with the runners who have studied it longest.