Bull Run, Pamplona, Spain 2003

Mark Roberts will be attempting the first ever streak at a Bull Run in Spain! Yes, that's right folks, our very own superstar Mark will be making the gamble of dangling his "prizes" in front of the bull with a chance to go for the speedboat! He really needs to keep his full concentration on BFH though ... Bully's Flaming Horns!!!

Mark Roberts - "Running with the bulls!"

After the event, we managed to get a quick quite from our hero: 

"I honestly saw my life flash before my eyes. I've seen the bull run on TV before but they are so much bigger and faster in real life. It's unbelievable how fast those things can move. I thought I was a dead man."

For over six centuries now, the Spanish have held gala festivals involving bulls, dancing and voluminous consumption of cheap red wine. Pamplona, a small town in the northern part of Spain hosts the wildest and most famous of all these festivals -- La Fiesta De San Fermin (Spanish for "let's all get really wasted and let the bulls chase us through the streets."). Today getting chased around the streets of Pamplona by large, angry, tourist-hating bulls is one of Spain's most glorious traditions.

The celebration is dedicated to Pamplona's Saint Fermin who was martyred when bulls dragged him through the streets. Rumor has it that St. Fermin was kind of a booze hound. Nonetheless, he was a real trend-setter because now tens of thousands of people flock to Pamplona each year to be chased through the same streets by bulls, and very few of them (at most recent count: zero) are even granted sainthood for their troubles. The point here is, that if you aspire to sainthood, go hang out with Mother Theresa in Calcutta.

Though the centrepiece of the festival is the running of the bulls, it is in truth quite dangerous and many have been killed since Hemingway first attended the festivities in 1924. If you run be well-aware that you are taking on a senseless risk just to have a great time. There are thousands of people who go just for the partying and the electric feeling that permeates the very being of Pamplona. Though if you're not a real wimp, or not too bright (at least not any brighter than the author) you'll drink too much red wine, meet some girls you want to show off for or some guys that are going to run and end up running as well. You only live once, right? Of course, you only die once too!

Picture put up on site before streak.