Can tourists run with the bulls? The rules, and how to prepare

Yes — anyone aged 18 or over can run with the bulls in Pamplona. There is no registration, no ticket and no fee: you simply enter the course before the cut-off time and choose the stretch you want to run. That freedom is exactly why the rules matter, and why the police remove anyone who is clearly not fit to be on the course.

The official rules

Pamplona City Council publishes a short rulebook for runners. The essentials:

• You must be 18 or over. Minors are not allowed on the course.
• Enter before 7:30 am — or before 7:15 am on July 7 and at weekends. After that, nobody gets in.
• Be sober and fit. The council asks for composure, sobriety, good reflexes and good physical condition. Drunk runners are taken off the course.
• Wear suitable clothes and shoes. Proper running shoes, nothing loose that can trip you.
• Carry nothing: backpacks, cameras and mobile phones are banned. Filming or taking selfies on the course is one of the surest ways to be pulled out.
• Do not wait in corners, blind bends or doorways, and do not stand still on the fences.
• Do not cross in front of the bulls or other runners, and do not stop suddenly.
• Never provoke, distract or touch the bulls.
• Know where you will leave the course, and always exit to the side.

How the morning works for a runner

1. Arrive early and enter the course through the Town Hall square. Police check runners and remove anyone who does not comply.
2. Warm up and stay calm. At 7:55, 7:57 and 7:59 am runners sing to San Fermín at the bottom of Santo Domingo.
3. Take your position on the stretch you have chosen. You do not have to run the whole course — nobody does.
4. At 8:00 the first rocket goes off. Start running only when the bulls are close; run for a few seconds, then move to the side and let the herd pass.

Tips for first-time runners

• Watch a run first. Spend at least one morning watching, ideally from the bullring or on TV, before you run.
• Choose a weekday. Weekend runs are much more crowded, and the crowd of runners is a bigger danger than the bulls for most people.
• Pick a wide stretch. Avoid Santo Domingo and the entrance to the bullring on your first run.
• If you fall, stay down. Curl up, protect your head with your arms and do not get up until the herd has passed — and someone tells you it is safe.
• Beware the lone bull. If a bull gets separated from the herd, it becomes disoriented and far more dangerous. Get out of its way.
• Get proper travel insurance and check whether it covers taking part in the bull run.

Read before you decide

Learn the route section by section and read our honest look at how dangerous the Running of the Bulls really is.