From the street
The run can be watched from behind the wooden fence which lines the most part of the route. The longest stretch of fencing is at the Town Hall square, and at the end of Mercaderes Street, as well as all along the most part of Estafeta Street and the stretch which goes from the end of that street on into the bull ring.
The fencing is double-lined and the spectators must remain behind the second line of fencing. The first line of fencing is kept clear for runners who need to make a quick exit from the path of the bulls. And in the spacing between the two rows of fencing only the medical teams, the police and perhaps some press photographers are allowed to stand.
To find a good spot behind the fence means taking up position at about 6.30 in the morning. Inevitably, this means waiting round, bored to tears and out of sorts until eight o'clock when the run begins. There is no way you can "book a place in advance". Anyone who wants to see the run must take up their position and hold it. And in the end the view is not so great as the fencing in front tends to block the view quite a bit. The locals don´t tend to watch from behind the fencing. However, if you are a stranger in town and have no way of getting a balcony "seat", and maybe this is going to be your first and last chance to see the run, it could be worth your while to suffer the boredom of the wait. Make sure you go looking for a position at least by 6.30 in the morning and take some warm clothing for the wait in the chilly dawn. Any later than that, it´s going to be very difficult to get even a half-decent view of the run.
One possible place, and somewhat better, is to go down to the starting post. There is a small sloping square just near where the local Museum is and which is looking over the starting place in Santo Domingo. Here, there is no wooden fencing and you look down at the runners gathered round the nitch where they sing their simple paen to the small figure of San Fermin to implore his protection. The stretch which leads down to the pen from where the bulls will be released in just below and the view of the stretch leading up to the Town Hall is quite clear. It´s certainly one of the best spots and of course, for that reason is heavily populated. Get there about 5.30 or 6 o´clock at the latest, in order to get a good position.
How to run the Running of the bulls
If you´re still reading this then it means you are probably a potential runner, hooked on the excitment of the idea of doing a run
This totally chaotic event has its particular norms and rules of behaviour despite the fact that it seems something wild and out of control. There are certain facts to keep in mind before you go in at the deep end on your first run.
The daunting step of entering the Arena is not just a question of jumping over the fence at any old place along the route. You should look for an official "gate" either in the square at the Town Hall or in the square of the Mercado. The streets where the running takes place are cleared of people during the final hour before the start of the run. The local municipal police are responsible for this task and they won´t have much tolerance for anyone climbing over the fence any old way. Look for a proper entrance point. (A piece of useful information: be careful, by this time the local police is not in the mood for jokes).
Making the run on a drunken spree is totally out of order: It´s just plain stupid and a danger both to yourself as well as to others.
Running of the bulls
Maybe because it is shown in the most important channels of TV of different countries it has become one of the most attractive event for the thousand and thousand of people who come to enjoy the festivals.
It is not what it seems
Having watched it on the TV, some of them can have the idea that to run in front of the bulls is quite easy, but, of course, it is not; ask the runners who have been running for years. You have to be very careful and keep an eye all the time, if you don't want to be badly injured; to run in front of bulls of 500 and 600 kgs of weight it's not a joke. Be sure that you will never feel the same sensation, but think twice before you run. If it's your first time, be aware of some details.
Advice
First of all, be sure that you really want to take part in the running of the bulls, don't do it just for fun or to appear in the TV. You will be thinking all the time about how will you appear on the News, or if your friends can see you, more than in the run.
If you have been drinking all the night and you are totally drunk, quite normal, don't run; it will be dangerous not only for you, but also for the rest of the people. You will think that you have all under control, but you won't; it is not that easy. If you have any problem you won't be able to react in the best way, because your reflexes won't be the same. So take it easy.
Usually the runners choose the same section to run and after been running for a while, they try to get out of the route without disturbing other runners or the bulls (which is quite difficult). You have to watch out for the run, it lasts only about 2 minutes.
Possible injuries
Most of the people who are injured during the running of the bulls, are because of falls while they are running or the blows they received trying to be as near as possible from the horns of the bulls. To nudge or beat the other runners is quite normal during the run. Some people say that most of the times it is because of the "divinos" (the people who prepare the run during the year), but other people say it is for the big quantity of people and the inexperience of most of them. It is true that there is a lot of people running, so is easy to understand that there will be fights, specially in some parts of the route; in Mercaderes and Estafeta, for example.
Sometimes, unfortunately, people die, nearly always because they don't know what to do, they don't know which are the rules of the run (that is what happened to the young American Mathew Peter Tassio, who died the 13th of July in 1995 ).
It is very important to know these rules to avoid these tragic accidents, as well as the route where the bulls run. If you have time, it would be a good idea to have a look in the section about the running of the bulls of this guide. You will find there the route of the run and the most dangerous parts of it. Be aware, you can be in danger anywhere, even if there are parts of the route more dangerous than others; Santo Domingo slope, Plaza del Ayuntamiento (there is no place to take refuge), Telefonica street and the Callejón (the narrow corral leading down to the entrance to the bullring), where there is a risk with the pile-up (not very frequently, the last one was in 1977- one person died and 35 were injured-)
Conclusion
Anyway, if you have decided that you will take part in the run, you could have a look in our "how to do the run" section, where you will find the basic rules of the running of the bulls. If you don't have time to read them, keep in mind, at least, this one: if you fall down don't get up, don't move and cover your head with your arms.
It will be better for you to run during the week, at the weekend there is a big quantity of people and it's more difficult to find a good place to run, and it is more dangerous as well.
Good luck!!!