On Tuesday (July 8), Kix Brooks of Brooks & Dunn fulfilled a longtime dream — he took part in the “running of the bulls” that is part of the annual Fesitval of San Fermin in Pamplona, Spain! “I’ve been wanting to do it for years,” he said afterward. He tried to convince his wife, Barbara, to let him run the risk (so to speak) during a European vacation a few years ago, but she refused, using the fact that their kids were traveling with them as her reason. (AUDIO INFO BELOW)

The event has taken place for centuries…but it began drawing people — like Kix — from all over the globe after Ernest Hemingway recounted it in his 1926 novel, The Sun Also Rises. Kix says that running ahead of the bulls is just like it looks in video footage you see every year on TV — “It’s a narrow street that they run down and…you can run as fast as you want but you won’t outrun them.” Kix reveals the runners do get a head start, but that’s no guarantee they won’t get trampled — “I got close!” (AUDIO INFO BELOW)

Kix is vacationing in Europe — he spent some time in Italy before making his way to Spain.

  Kix Brooks talks about running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. (:10)
(Note: Audio is phone quality.)
“I’ve been wanting to do it for years. Actually, [I] was over here in 2000 and my wife talked me out of running because I had the kids with me. But I told her I was going to come back and finally made the trip!”

  Kix Brooks says running ahead of the bulls in Pamplona is just like it looks on TV — there’s every chance someone may get trampled! (:12) (Note: Audio is phone quality.)
“Oh, I got close! I mean, they…they come…it’s a very narrow street that they run down and we get — they give the runners a head start on them. But you can run as fast as you want and you won’t outrun ’em.”