Wearing the classic bull runner’s outfit—a white shirt with a red neck-scarf—30-year-old Yomara Martínez charged through the narrow cobblestone streets of Pamplona, right alongside thousands of other adrenaline seekers at the San Fermín Festival. But even in the chaotic crowd, she stood out for one simple reason. She was one of the very few women daring enough to run with the bulls.
“At the end of the day, the bull doesn’t know about sexes, age or body shape,” Martínez said. “It doesn’t matter if you are woman”, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Every summer, Pamplona draws a massive crowd to watch the iconic bull runs, or encierros. People cram onto balconies and behind barricades to catch a glimpse of runners as they sprint ahead of charging bulls. Millions more tune in from their TVs. The festival is centuries old, but women participating in the runs is still a relatively new and rare sight.
“There are times I feel small. And ask myself ‘what am I doing here?’ Because, although you may not want to, you do feel slightly inferior because of your physique,” said Sara Puñal, a 32-year-old administrator who ran on Sunday.
“But in the moment, you are all equal,” she added, describing how the experience blurs all differences when you’re running full speed with danger just feet behind you.
Each bull run stretches over 2,775 feet of twisting, medieval streets and lasts just a couple of minutes. But in that short time, anything can happen. Around 4,000 people typically join each run. The goal for the more experienced runners? Sprint just ahead of the bull’s horns, guiding the massive animal with a rolled-up newspaper. Gorings are not uncommon, and most runners leave with bruises or worse after slipping or colliding with each other.
Still, women like Paula López, 32, say the thrill is worth it. A shop assistant who took part earlier in the week, López grew up around bullfighting and wasn’t bothered by how few other women were on the course. “I think many have a desire to see what it feels like but they don’t try because of fear,” she said.
The event hasn’t been without controversy. In 2016, the festival faced a reckoning after five men raped an 18-year-old woman during the celebrations. The men, who called themselves “La Manada” or “The Animal Pack,” were eventually sentenced to 15 years in prison, and the case triggered outrage and protests across Spain. Since then, festival organizers say they’ve made security a priority, especially for women attending.
It wasn’t until 1975 that women were even allowed to participate in the bull runs. Before then, a law banned women, children, and the elderly from being in the bull run route. That all changed just a year after the law was repealed, and slowly, more women have started claiming space in this daring tradition.
Of course, the San Fermín Festival’s wild appeal isn’t new to Americans. Ernest Hemingway immortalized it in The Sun Also Rises, and it’s remained a bucket-list thrill ever since. Now, women are increasingly part of that story too.