San Fermín 2026 kicks off with a lightning-fast and crowded first bull run
The Festival of San Fermín began in Pamplona with the first encierro of 2026. Fuente Ymbro bulls raced through a packed course in about 2 minutes and 20 seconds, resulting in four contusion injuries but no gorings.
A fast and crowded start
Thousands of runners packed Pamplona's streets early Tuesday morning for the first bull run of San Fermín 2026. The Fuente Ymbro bulls completed the 848‑metre course in times ranging from 2 minutes 16 seconds to 2 minutes 25 seconds, depending on the source, making it one of the fastest opening runs in recent memory. The weather was clear and hot, with Navarra under an orange heat alert.
I had the feeling there were fewer people.
The run moment by moment
The six bulls left the Santo Domingo corrals at exactly 8:00 am, led by the bell oxen and keeping a tight formation. On the uphill slope two bulls veered toward the runners, causing several falls. The pack stretched slightly at the City Hall and Plaza Consistorial but stayed grouped. At the Mercaderes curve the bulls kept their footing while many runners tumbled.
- Bulls exit corrals of Santo Domingo, led by bell oxen, and charge up the slope.
- Two bulls veer toward runners, causing early falls on both sides of the street.
- The manada stretches but remains grouped; more runners fall.
- Bulls keep their footing; several runners trip and suffer contusions.
- High speed and dense crowd lead to multiple falls; the pack opens slightly near the end.
- Herd gallops stretched out; runners attempt to sprint before the entrance to the bullring.
- Bulls enter pens directly; time recorded between 2:16 and 2:25.
Down Estafeta Street the high speed and dense crowd led to more falls; the animals remained so close together that runners struggled to find gaps. Only toward the end of the street did the group open up, allowing a few brave runners to sprint alongside. The herd galloped stretched out through Telefónica and the narrow alley into the bullring, where the bulls entered the pens without incident.
Injuries and medical report
Provisional hospital reports listed four injured runners, all with contusions. One suffered a head trauma on the Mercaderes stretch, another a leg contusion on Espoz y Mina, a third a foot contusion near Telefónica, and the fourth was treated inside the bullring for a limb deformation without hospital transfer. No horn wounds were recorded.
The bulls and the afternoon bullfight
The Fuente Ymbro ranch, making its 19th appearance at San Fermín, supplied six bulls weighing between 570 and 610 kilograms. The heaviest, Improvisado (610 kg), was accompanied by Taranto (595 kg), Fanfarrón (585 kg), Escribiente (575 kg), Manirroto (570 kg), and Botellero (570 kg). The bulls will be fought at 18:30 in the Pamplona bullring by matadors Daniel Luque, Víctor Hernández, and Aarón Palacio.
- Improvisado
- 610 kg
- Taranto
- 595 kg
- Fanfarrón
- 585 kg
- Escribiente
- 575 kg
- Manirroto
- 570 kg
- Botellero
- 570 kg
