Getting your questions ready
Getting your questions ready
Beat the crowd
10 questions No timer
60 free Running of the Bulls trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Running of the Bulls trivia quiz covers the Pamplona encierro from the first rocket at 8 a.m. to the fourth that says the herd is safely penned. It asks about the 875-metre route through the old quarter, the six fighting bulls and their escort of steers, the wooden fences, the medical posts, the white-and-red dress code and the chant sung to Saint Fermín before the gates open. It then widens to the whole festival of San Fermín: the chupinazo that opens it, the giants and big-heads parade, the nightly fireworks, the Pobre de mí that closes it, and the saint whose martyrdom the red kerchief recalls. Ernest Hemingway's novel and the run's later film appearances get their own questions, as do the other bull runs of Spain, Portugal and France, the vanished Stamford run in England, and the mock runs with reindeer, sheep and roller-skaters that copy the idea around the world. A few questions on the Spanish fighting bull itself round it off. Every answer is checked against Wikipedia's articles on the encierro, the festival, Pamplona, Saint Fermín and the fighting bull, and each explanation adds one further fact. Good for travellers heading to Navarre in July, pub quiz setters and anyone who has watched the run on television and wondered how it works. Bullfighting fans may also like our Bullfighting trivia page.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01At what time each morning does the Pamplona bull run begin?
8 a.m.
Before 1924 it started two hours earlier, and from 1924 to 1974 one hour earlier than today.
Q 02On which dates does the festival of San Fermín run each year?
6 to 14 July
It opens at noon on the 6th and closes at midnight on the 14th; the bulls run every morning from the 7th.
Q 03How long is the Pamplona bull-run route?
875 metres
It crosses four streets of the old town and the Town Hall square before funnelling into the bullring through a tunnel.
Q 04How many fighting bulls are released in a normal Pamplona encierro?
Six
They are the same six animals fought in the bullring at six o'clock that afternoon.
Q 05What is the job of the steers that run alongside the fighting bulls?
Guiding the herd to the ring
Six run inside the herd and three more follow to sweep up any bull that stops or turns back.
Q 06How many rockets are fired during a Pamplona bull run?
Four
The first says the gate is open, the second that all the bulls are out, the third that the herd is in the ring and the fourth that it is in the corral.
Q 07What is the average duration of a Pamplona encierro from first rocket to finish?
About two and a half minutes
Anti-slip surfacing on the famous bend has made the bulls faster and the run shorter in recent years.
Q 08Roughly how fast does the herd travel along the route?
24 km/h
That is about 15 mph, so runners can only stay ahead of the bulls for a short stretch before pulling aside.
Q 09From which street's corral are the bulls released at the start of the run?
Santo Domingo
The first 50 metres are an uphill grade where the bulls are fastest, so runners are barred from that stretch.
Q 10On which Pamplona street's bend, 'la curva', did bulls often slip before anti-slip surfacing was laid?
Estafeta
Since the surfacing went in, most bulls take the turn cleanly and are often ahead of the steers, making the run quicker.
Q 11The short final stretch of the route before the bullring is nicknamed after what former building?
The old telephone office
'Telefónica' sits at the end of the last street, just before the tunnel into the ring.
Q 12Roughly how many separate pieces of wood make up the fence along the Pamplona route?
3,000
Where there is room the fence is doubled; the gap between the two lines is for medics, police and runners needing cover.
Q 13Why are the gaps in the wooden barricades sized the way they are?
Wide enough for a person, too narrow for a bull
Q 21How many first-aid posts line the route on run mornings?
16
About 200 people, mostly Red Cross volunteers, staff them so a gored runner can be in hospital within ten minutes.
Q 22Until which year were women prohibited from running with the bulls in Pamplona?
1974
Only five women have been gored since the ban was lifted, largely because runners remain overwhelmingly male.
Q 23For what reason was the Pamplona bull run cancelled in 2020 and 2021?
The COVID-19 pandemic
It resumed on 7 to 14 July 2022.
What is the name of the rocket that opens the San Fermín festival at noon on 6 July?
Spectators must stay behind the second fence; the space between the fences is reserved for security and medical staff.
Q 14What is the minimum age to run with the bulls in Pamplona?
18
Runners must also run in the same direction as the bulls, not incite them, and not be under the influence of alcohol.
Q 15How many times is the benediction to the saint sung before the run?
Three
Each rendition is sung in Spanish and then Basque, and the singers finish by shouting 'Viva San Fermín!' and 'Gora San Fermin!'.
Q 16Since which year has the pre-run chant to the saint been part of the tradition?
1962
The Basque translation was added after the Spanish version only in 2009.
Q 17What do the red neckerchiefs worn by runners represent?
The saint's death by beheading
The white clothing stands for the saint's purity; blue is a common alternative to red.
Q 18What everyday item do some runners carry rolled up to divert a bull's attention?
A newspaper
Traditional dress is white shirt and trousers with a red waistband, or faja, and kerchief.
Q 19According to Wikipedia, how many people have died in the Pamplona bull run since records began?
15
Most died from goring; the last fatality was on 10 July 2009, and 50 to 100 people are injured every year.
Q 20What is the Spanish word for the dangerous pile-up of runners that can form at the bullring entrance?
Montón
The narrow entrance acts as a funnel; a runner died of suffocation in such a pile in 1977 and the first recorded blocking dates from 1878.
Chupinazo
It has been fired from a city-hall balcony since 1941, and since 1979 the honour rotates through the council's political groups.
Q 25What is the name of the song sung at midnight on 14 July to close the festival?
Pobre de mí
Participants light candles and remove their red kerchiefs as the band plays; the closing ritual began in the 1920s.
Q 26Why was the Riau-Riau council procession dropped from the official programme in 1992?
Public order, after activists used it to provoke clashes
Protesters had sometimes taken five hours to let councillors walk 500 metres; attempts to restore it in 1996 and 2012 failed.
Q 27How many giant figures parade each morning of the festival?
Eight
Built in 1860 by painter Tadeo Amorena, they portray four royal couples of Europe, Asia, America and Africa and stand about four metres tall.
Q 28What do the kilikis and zaldikos figures do to children during the parade?
Chase them and hit them with foam truncheons
Zaldikos are horse-and-rider figures; kilikis are caricature heads worn like helmets.
Q 29At what time is the nightly fireworks display held at the citadel park?
23:00
Fireworks at the festival are recorded as far back as 1595, and an international contest has run in most years since 2000.
Q 30In which year did the saint's ceremonies move from October to July, creating the Sanfermines?
1591
The move let the church feast coincide with the medieval trade fair, when the weather was better.