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Like most ideas in the Bay Area, the concept for "Running of
the Bullshitters" was conceived on a cocktail napkin while at
a bar in North Beach. At the time, it had been nearly one year since
I ran with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, so I wanted to do something
to commemorate the experience. My drinking buddy and I had tossed
back a few different ideas, as well as a few beers, which involved
bringing real bulls to San Francisco and blocking off the streets
of North Beach for a real run. Knowing full well the local authorities
would object, we conceived a parody that we now know as "Running
of the Bullshitters."
The
concept involved a gathering of friends, dressed in appropriate bull-running
attire, running through the streets of North Beach while being chased
by a bull. This event would always be held on the Saturday night during
the actual "Running of the Bulls", which is held July 6th
through the 14th. The run would also coincide with the exact moment
the bulls were released in Pamplona.
What
would we do to incorporate a bull? Realizing I acquired a set of bullhorns
on a trip to Mexico many years earlier, I used these to attach to
a helmet and run after my friends. Since running through the streets
of North Beach would build up such a thirst, we would stop by a few
local drinking establishments for cocktails to cool us down along
the way. The course is longer in distance, time and safer than the
real run, but that's why we call it "Running of the Bullshitters".
The
run always kicks off at 11 PM sharp (8AM in Pamplona and the start
of the real run) from La Bodega in North Beach. (Located at 1337 Grant,
b/t Vallejo & Green Streets) Proper bull-running attire is also
required for the event. All this consists of is a white T-shirt, white
pants if you have them, a red sash for your waist and a red bandanna
for your neck. We always sell bull-running attire for this event,
so bring a little extra cash to obtain your outfit.
Since
its conception, we have gone from 12 Bullshitters to over 200. Each
year this event gets bigger and better with the addition of new bulls
(we’ve grown to 6 Toro’s in the herd), cool T-shirts, the
addition of this Web site (My personal thanks to Pete Beck for his
help in building and maintaining this site), and we have even expanded
to other cities - 2001 marked the 1st Annual ROTB in Minneapolis.
Screw
with the Bull, and get the HORNS!
Pablo
"El Toro #1" Padia - Head Bull in Charge
info@runningofthebullshitters.com
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