Carrera del Encierro

Carrera del Encierro is a short road race in Pamplona, held in the days before the San Fermín festival on the same streets used for the city’s bull runs. At only 799.48 meters from start to finish, it feels more like a hard sprint through the old encierro route than a typical distance race. The event, formerly called the Cross del Encierro, is organized by S.D.R.C. Peña La Jarana, a San Fermín club in Pamplona. The route begins near the Santo Domingo corrals and the Baluarte de la Rochapea area, then follows the bull-run course to the entrance alley of the Plaza de Toros Monumental de Pamplona. Cuesta de Santo Domingo is the well-known early stretch, the same hill where runners chant to the saint before the actual encierros. Approximately 500 people typically run, with multiple categories, a children’s event, and a wheelchair division. Winners receive trophies and cash prizes, participants may receive food at the finish, and a portion of the proceeds benefits a charitable cause.