San Fermín 2013: The Running of the Bulls
July 6 to 14, 2013. Eight encierros, six runners gored, a gate accident on the seventh morning, and the most dangerous single day produced by El Pilar in Pamplona history.
Back to Pamplona in 2013
I returned to Pamplona in 2013 for pickup shots for Chasing Red. It was a supplementary filming year; the main production work had been done in 2012, and I was there to fill in specific footage we still needed from the route and the fiesta. Being back gave me a chance to watch the encierros with a different kind of attention, less as a runner and more through the eye of the camera.
The El Pilar morning on July 12 was the run I remember most clearly from that year. The loose bull and the long time made it one of the more frightening single mornings I’ve observed in Pamplona. Three people gored, an American who required surgery, the run stretching to nearly five minutes. That is not a normal San Fermín morning.
Dennis Clancey, Founder, Encierro
The El Pilar Morning and the Gate That Opened
San Fermín 2013 was defined by two episodes that came a day apart. On July 12, a loose bull from El Pilar ran half the course alone, reaching speeds that separated it from the herd and goring three runners, including a 20-year-old American who required emergency surgery to remove his spleen. The run lasted 4 minutes 57 seconds, the longest of the fiesta by nearly two minutes.
The following morning, July 13, a side gate on the approach to the bullring was accidentally left open during the Fuente Ymbro run. Runners poured through it in a crush, leaving 21 injured, two seriously. Neither incident caused a death, and no runner died in 2013. Six total gorings across eight mornings placed 2013 in the mid-range of the decade. Read every year in the full archive, or compare with 2012 and 2014.
Four minutes fifty-seven seconds, the El Pilar run of July 12 was the longest of the fiesta and one of the most dangerous single mornings of the decade.
Every 2013 Encierro, Day by Day
Each run with its ganadía, time, horn injuries, and the video record. The route runs approximately 849 meters from Santo Domingo to the ring; see the route map.
Alcurrucén
A full, crowded first morning as the fiesta opened on a Sunday. The Alcurrucén bulls ran with speed and discipline. A busy Estafeta produced multiple falls but no horn injuries on the opening day.
Dolores Aguirre
The fastest run of the fiesta and one of the most elegant. The Seville ranch’s bulls ran with nobility and power, leading the herd from the start. No gorings; described by witnesses as one of the most beautiful encierros in recent memory.
Cebada Gago
The Jerez de la Frontera ranch produced a fast, dangerous run with its characteristically powerful bulls. One runner was caught by horn on Estafeta. Cebada Gago’s bulls have one of the highest average goring rates of any ranch in Pamplona history.
Victoriano del Río
The Guadalix de la Sierra ranch ran cleanly for most of the route. One runner was gored on the middle section of the course. The July 10 date also carried the memory of Daniel Jimeno Romero, killed in Pamplona four years earlier on the same date.
Torrestrella
A clean and well-structured fifth morning from the Medina Sidonia ranch. The Torrestrella bulls ran cohesively through Estafeta, producing good racing conditions. No gorings recorded on an injury-free day.
El Pilar
The most dangerous morning of the fiesta. The bull ‘Burrenote’ separated near the start and ran over half the course alone, turning repeatedly on runners. Three people were gored: a 20-year-old American (spleen removed), a 42-year-old Spaniard and a 31-year-old Spaniard, both gored in the arm. The run lasted 4 minutes 57 seconds, the longest of the fiesta.
Fuente Ymbro
A fast Fuente Ymbro morning was overshadowed by a serious incident at the ring entrance: a side gate was accidentally left open during the run, causing a crush of runners that left 21 injured, two seriously. One runner was gored by horn. The gate incident became the defining image of the day.
Miura
The closing Miura morning was, unusually, the cleanest of the final days. The Lora del Río bulls ran a tight, disciplined course and entered the ring without a single horn goring, a rare Miura ending for the Pamplona encierro.
The Stories the Numbers Leave Out
Official Poster: San Fermín 2013
Cartel: “Canáan” by Elixabete Bordonaba.
Elixabete Bordonaba, a 30-year-old architect from Pamplona, won the 2013 San Fermín poster competition with her design “Canáan,” receiving 36 percent of the public vote. Her image drew on warm, golden colour and a symbolic composition tied to the fertility and abundance of the ancient land of Canaan, an allusion to the richness of the fiesta and its traditions.
The competition attracted 451 entries: 178 from Pamplona, 92 from other Navarra towns, 174 from other Spanish provinces, and 7 from abroad. Bordonaba was the first architect to win the competition.
Source: Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, cartel archive
Named the official cartel of San Fermín 2013 after winning the Ayuntamiento’s annual poster contest.
The City in 2013
The chupinazo opened the fiesta at noon on Saturday, July 6, 2013, fired from the balcony of the Pamplona town hall by the mayor. The 2013 fiesta saw the return of Torrestrella and Alcurrucén to the encierro lineup after absences, while the Cebada Gago and Domecq ranches that had featured in 2012 stood down.
The Concurso Internacional de Fuegos Artificiales continued its annual run in the Ciudadela. The annual fireworks competition lights the Pamplona sky every night of the fiesta, drawing spectators from across Navarra to the old fortress. Nine days after the chupinazo, the Pobre de Mí at midnight on July 14 closed the fiesta, as it has every year since the tradition was established.
2013, As the World Saw It
Selected international coverage of San Fermín 2013.
Find Your 2013 Run
The Pamplona photographers and the Navarra press shoot every morning. These links go to the 2013 galleries.
How 2013 Came Together
The planning and key dates, kept on the record.
The Casa de Misericordia confirmed the 2013 lineup: Torrestrella and Alcurrucén returned after absences, while Domecq and Torrehandilla stood down. The eight ranches confirmed were Alcurrucén, Dolores Aguirre, Cebada Gago, Victoriano del Río, Torrestrella, El Pilar, Fuente Ymbro, and Miura.
The chupinazo fired at noon by Pamplona’s mayor opened the fiesta. The encierros began the following morning at 8:00 a.m. with Alcurrucén as the first ranch of the week.
El Pilar’s ‘Burrenote’ ran alone for more than half the course, goring three runners in the longest encierro of the fiesta, 4 minutes 57 seconds. An American runner required surgery to remove his spleen. It was the sixth encierro and the most serious day of San Fermín 2013.
Miura closed the fiesta in a clean final morning. At midnight, the Pobre de Mí ceremony in the Plaza del Castillo ended San Fermín 2013 with six total gorings across eight days.
San Fermín 2013, Answered
How many runners were gored in San Fermín 2013?
Six runners were gored by horn across the eight encierros. The El Pilar run on July 12 produced three of those gorings in a single morning. The other three gorings were spread across Cebada Gago (July 9), Victoriano del Río (July 10), and Fuente Ymbro (July 13). Alcurrucén, Dolores Aguirre, Torrestrella, and Miura all ran without a horn injury.
Which ganadía ran in each encierro in 2013?
Alcurrucén on July 7, Dolores Aguirre on July 8, Cebada Gago on July 9, Victoriano del Río on July 10, Torrestrella on July 11, El Pilar on July 12, Fuente Ymbro on July 13, and Miura on July 14.
What happened in the July 12 El Pilar encierro?
The bull ‘Burrenote’ separated from the herd near the start and ran most of the course alone, repeatedly charging at runners. Three people were gored: a 20-year-old American who required spleen surgery, and two Spanish runners gored in the arm. The run lasted 4 minutes 57 seconds, the longest of the 2013 fiesta by nearly two minutes.
Was anyone killed in San Fermín 2013?
No. The last death in the Pamplona encierro was Daniel Jimeno Romero on July 10, 2009. No runners died in 2013. The most serious injury was the American runner who required surgery on July 12; he recovered. The gate accident on July 13 left 21 injured from crowd pressure, none fatally.
Planning your own run?
2013 is in the record. For the years on either side, see San Fermín 2012 and San Fermín 2014, or learn the route with the runners who have studied it longest.