Last weekend, a quarter mile dirt track in Dinwiddie County’s Virginia Motorsport Park made Virginia history when it served as the inaugural site for the ‘Running of the Bulls’.  Inspired by the legendary Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain, hundreds of people, from ages 21 to over 60, paid up to $75 to be chased, pursued and even tousled by 1,000 pound plus beasts.

The company behind the idea of bringing a little bit of Spanish history to Virginia, Boston-based Great Bull Run, plans to take the show on the road and has announced a nationwide tour of 10 cities for 2013-2014.  If other states embrace the Great Bull Run like Virginia - where approximately 8,000 spectators watched 8 runs of 500 people each - it looks like they may have found success promoting one of life’s more unusual events. 

So what inspired the Spaniards to run with the bulls?  Evidently, when bullfighting became popular and rings for the ‘sport’ were built, the only way to move the bulls from corrals to the bullrings was to take to the streets.  Young people, eager to demonstrate their sense of adventure and bravado, then began running alongside the bulls as they made their way through the constricted, medieval streets of Pamplona.  Today it’s estimated over 20,000 take part in the annual festival.  And if you’re not brave enough to run; you can always watch it on national TV.  

Are you ready to make a run at it?  The event’s tagline says it all…“Grab Life by the Horns”!  If you missed last weekend’s inaugural run and are willing to travel, you can still get your adrenaline rush in Atlanta, Houston, Southern California, Dallas, the Twin Cities, Northern California and Chicago between now and July 2014.