A Cwmbran man is heading to Spain on Wednesday to take part in the Pamplona Bull Run. Lloyd Smith, 24, from Fairwater, is going on a 24 hour bus ride to Pamplona ready for the race on Saturday.
Lloyd told Cwmbran Life: “The opening ceremony is on Friday, with the first bull run taking place the next day at 8am. The ceremony is just one big celebration in the streets of Pamplona that goes on for most the day, night and into the early hours.
“At 8am sharp on Saturday and after the street has been cordoned off, the police let those willing to enter take their position. One firework is released to signal the bulls have been released and ideally you want a second firework to go off almost immediately as this signals all the bulls have left the pen and are in one big pack. There are six bulls in one pack. If there is a delay it makes it more dangerous as two packs or even worse a lone bull can get distracted and not run straight and instead turn around on those behind it.
“The race isn’t something you can really train for. The street is 850m long and the bulls will clear it in three or four minutes so if you can run that kind of of time it’s a start. But running it with around 2,000 people becomes a bit more of a challenge.
- These are the rules sent to Lloyd
“I’m heading over by myself as none of my mates fancied joining me…..funny that! I plan on recording it with a GoPro head cam I bought as it’s the best one around and used for most events similar to this.
“My family and friends have mixed feelings really, they all know what I’m like, I think they all just want it over and done with now and for me to just come home in one piece. Loads of people have asked me why I’m doing and I keep asking them back ‘why haven’t you?’
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and I wanted to make sure I did it while I had the chance. I haven’t done anything as stupid as this before but I did travel to Croatia in an old banger last year for charity. Next year I’m looking to do the cheese rolling festival in Gloucester. If it wasnt before the bull run I would have done it but the chances of injury are to great to waste a year of planning the Spain trip.
“I’m going with PP Travel who have been running trips to Pamplona for 21 years. It will be mainly backpackers and adrenaline junkies but it also attracts stag weekends.”
Once Lloyd gets his video on You Tube we will share the link on this blog.