And the iconic ironic moment:
My own final introductory words of advice are simple: if you want to guarantee you’ll survive running the bulls, stay off the street and watch it from a balcony.
— Alexander Fiske-Harrison, co-author of “
Fiesta: How to Survive the Bulls of Pamplona”
MADRID — Ernest Hemingway followed such advice, preferring to write about the traditional running of the bulls, an annual event that these days attracts tens of thousands of tourists from all over the world. So did another devotee, Orson Welles, though it’s hard to resist the thought of the rotund director chugging along with the rampaging animals.
Unfortunately, perhaps, one of Mr. Fiske-Harrison’s co-authors, an American named Bill Hillmann, did not, and was gored in the leg on Wednesday when he tripped during the charge through the streets.
Mr. Hillmann suffered serious muscle tissue damage, but none to the bone or arteries, said Mr. Fiske-Harrison, a British writer and amateur bullfighter who ran behind Mr. Hillmann on Wednesday and later visited him in the hospital.
Mr. Fiske-Harrison blamed a fellow runner for the accident. He said that Mr. Hillmann, who is 32 and from Chicago, was extremely experienced, with “great running technique,” but that he had been pushed.
“This is getting more dangerous every year, with more and more people showing up but having no idea whatsoever about bulls,” Mr. Fiske-Harrison harrumphed. “The No. 1 rule is to show respect for the other runners, which many seem to forget.”
A Spanish runner was gored through the chest on Wednesday and was described as being in serious condition by the local authorities. Three other runners suffered light injuries during the half-mile or so stampede through the narrow and winding streets of Pamplona’s Old Town.
The San Fermín festival, which lasts a week and dates to the 13th century, became a worldwide phenomenon after Hemingway immortalized it in his 1926 novel, “The Sun Also Rises.” The festival has continued to attract more visitors since, raising security concerns.
This year, the authorities introduced a tougher security code, including fines ranging from 600 to 60,000 euros, or about $817 to $81,750, for people found to be endangering the safety of others, often because of their decision to join the run after heavy drinking.
Even though goring accidents are common, few result in life-threatening injuries. The last fatal accident took place five years ago, when a Spaniard was gored in the neck.
Mr. Fiske-Harrison said he went to Pamplona this year with friends and the other authors of the book, including John Hemingway, a grandson of Hemingway. John Hemingway did not run on Wednesday because, Mr. Fiske-Harrison said, “he slept in, which shows a high level of wisdom.”
It is “certainly ironic” that a co-author of a Pamplona survival guide should be gored, Mr. Fiske-Harrison said, adding, “We will probably need to update the book.”
