Pamplona Runner Gored To Death

By Wyatt Earp | July 11, 2009

A terrible story. Allegedly, the man in the brown striped shirt (above, center) has been identified as the victim.

His lung was pierced by one of the animal’s horns as he took part in the annual run. Nine others were injured in a dangerous race that saw one bull break away from the pack and charge sprinters.

The man, whose nationality and age have not yet been released, was gored in the neck and lung as he ran the half mile course through the cobbled streets of the northern Spanish town.

“He is dead. He had been hit by a horn that punctured a lung,” a spokesman for organisers of the annual San Fermin festival confirmed.

Television footage showed that the bull, a brown beast named Cappucino, broke away from the pack of five others and six steers which carried on running the course without him. Once separated the bull became disorientated and aggressive and began charging at the crowds of runners. (H/T – Telegraph UK)

Now, I don’t want to seem like an uncaring, insensitive ass, but I have to ask this question: WHY THE HELL WOULD ANYONE EVER PARTICIPATE IN THE RUNNING OF THE BULLS?

The bulls are enormous, quick, and usually very angry. They are also looking for a little payback against the people who are taunting them, and once in a while, they get it – with deadly results.

Personally, I just don’t see the sense (or the appeal) in this.

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