(by Don Baker deseretnews.com 7-10-98)
Depending on your viewpoint, it's either the ultimate adrenalin rush; flat-out insanity or a barbaric "throwback to the Middle Ages."
But regardless of how you look at it, the first-ever "Running With the Bulls" Saturday in Mesquite has quickly evolved into a national curiosity with plenty of runners and a lot of media attention.Run spokeswoman Susan Knuepfer said Wednesday that about 400 people have put up $50 a head - so to speak - for the privilege of running a quarter-mile dash down a dirt road with a dozen unsociable rodeo bulls.
For that modest fee, runners will get a T-shirt and red sash plus some inspiration to reflect on what kind of recreational opportunities may be available in the afterlife.
The field is expected to increase to at least 500 runners by Saturday, she said, and event organizers plan to accommodate thousands of spectators and reporters.
Modeled after the annual running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, this event will have a distinct Wild West flavor and take place in "Mesquite Village" at the Oasis Ranch and Gun Club.
Granted, it's really not a village at all - just a collection of colorful facades whomped up to look like the Old West.
The bull run was moved to Oasis Ranch after the Nevada Department of Transportation nixed staging the event on a state road, so the "village" has been constructed to recreate an old-time ambience.
"We still want people to feel like they're running on Main Street," explained Kirk Lee, public relations director for the Oasis Hotel and Casino.
The adrenalin rush thing will be automatic for the runners: That comes naturally when you're scooting down a dirt road with several belligerent bovines who tip the scales at about three-quarters of a ton.
"It's somewhat of a crazy thing," Knuepfer conceded. "But the public response has been generally positive, and we've had a ton of media interest."
Lee said that in addition to national coverage by television and print media, he has been contacted by Spanish and German television news units that plan to cover the running.
The event, which was adopted by the five-casino Mesquite Resort Association after being rejected by city officials in Phoenix and Long Beach, "is accomplishing our goal of putting Mesquite on the map."
Animal rights activists and Humane Society officials, however, would like to use that map to swat association members and event organizers.
"This kind of a thing is a throwback to the Middle Ages," said Gene Baierschmidt, executive director of the Humane Society of Utah. "Civilized cultures in 1998 shouldn't be getting their kicks by pitting thrill-seeking human beings against terrified confused animals.
"This isn't sport, it isn't entertainment and it has no redeeming value in any setting," he added.
While one could probably make the same allegations against craps or blackjack, Baierschmidt is urging Humane Society members and the critter-loving public to write, fax, phone or e-mail their protests to the Mesquite City Council - and to boycott the city's casino bus-i-ness.
"The bull-running supporters stand to make money from this spectacle," he said. "It is our hope they find they've lost much more than they've gained when the whole mess is over."
Opposition from animal rights factions "is somewhat to be expected," Knuepfer said. But she also stressed that organizers have taken pains to ensure the event is as humane and non-threatening to the bulls as possible.
Unlike Pamplona, where the bulls run on concrete and cobblestone streets, the Mesquite bulls will be running on a 40-foot-wide dirt road with familiar corral-type fencing to channel both the two-footed and four-footed runners.
"We liken it to a bull-riding event at the rodeo as far as danger to the bulls is concerned," she said. "There won't be any poking or prodding of the bulls" or whipping or taunting like the animals at Pamplona.
Lee noted the safety of people is also a concern, so there will be a second fence inside the primary fence with gaps every 100 feet so runners can escape the flow of action if necessary.
In addition, lariat-swinging mounted cowboys and rodeo clowns disguised in street clothing will mix with the runners and provide some protection.
Even with those precautions, Lee said, there will still be an element of danger and runners must be at least 21 years of age, in good health, not be under the influence of drugs or alcohol and sign liability waivers before making the run.
The run will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday, Mesquite time, and admittance will be free. Bleachers are being provided for about 30,000 spectators.
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https://www.deseretnews.com/article/640690/Ole-toro-Mesquite-bulls-ready-to-paw-snort-and-run.html
