Running of the Bulls 2009: Fiesta de San Fermin Begins July 6

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The 2009 Running of the Bulls is set to take place in Pamplona, Spain. The event, which was made famous by author Ernest Hemingway, is part of the Fiesta de San Fermin, which runs from July 6-14.

Hemingway's 1927 novel The Sun Also Rises has inspired countless young foreigners to take part in the Running of the Bulls--or encierro as it's called in Spanish--which is an adrenaline-filled and sometimes bloody rite of passage where revelers run alongside charging bulls down the cobble-stoned streets of the Basque city.

The race takes place each morning during the festival, known to locals as Sanfermines. A rocket is fired into the sky and runners are given a head start has they barge through Pamplona's narrow streets. After that, six bulls are set free and knock over anything and anyone that might get in their way. The Running of the Bulls route ends in the town's Plaza de los Toros, the third largest bullring in the world. Once there, the bulls meet their end at the hands of bullfighters.

Having bulls and humans run alongside each other in the street can be a bloody affair. Injuries are common during the encierro--runners are often hit by bulls and often trampled by other runners. While injuries aren't uncommon, deaths have been few and far between. Since 1910, 14 runners have died during the encierro. The last bull-running death was in 2003 when a bull trampled 63-year-old Pamplona native Fermin Etxberria Iraneta in the head. In 1995, American Matthew Tassio was gored to death by a bull. 

The origin of the Running of the Bulls is not entirely clear. Many believe it began decades ago when local herdsmen would drive bulls through the Pamplona streets to the ring for the fiesta's daily bullfight. Locals would join in to test their courage.

For thousands of travelers, the race is an adrenaline rush like no other. Others, however, see it as an aberration. Animal rights protesters regularly descend upon Pamplona, known in Basque as Iruña, to protest what they consider to be a barbaric event. Protests have already taken place in New York.

The encierro isn't unique to Pamplona. Similar running of the bulls take place in several towns in Spain, Mexico, and Southern France.