Thrill seekers run with bulls and win cash

Posted on: jamacsadmin

Laurence Heinen
Times Contributor
 
Back in 2007, Justin Carlson accepted a dare and ran with the bulls at the Strathmore Heritage Days Stampede.
Fast forward to 2011, and Carlson’s newfound obsession paid off when he won the $1,000 top prize after Saturday night’s Running With the Bulls event in front of the Agro Grandstand.
“The first time I did it was a bet, which was four years ago,” said Carlson, 23, of Strathmore. “Then I loved it so much I’ve been back ever since.”
Carlson almost didn’t take part in this year’s event at the urging of his wife Amber, who recently gave birth to the couple’s first son Trevor.
“She wasn’t going to let me this year because my son was just born,” Carlson explained. “He’s only three weeks old, so she was like, ‘No!’. I managed to talk her into it and thank God I did.”
Carlson gained the approval of the sell-out crowd when he ran right in front of one the bulls before taking a couple horns to his chest and stomach.
“My stomach’s a little sore, but I’ll live,” said Carlson, who added his wife deserved the prize money for supporting him. “Well, she’s got 1,000 bucks.”
Jeff Thomson’s wife Jessica also wasn’t too ecstatic that he ran with the bulls for the second straight year.
“I’ve been looking forward to this all year,” said Thomson. “She’s not too thrilled, but she said that if it makes me happy, she supports me.” 
Thomson, who stood out among the other runners due to the Superman cape he was wearing, narrowly avoided taking a horn to the backside at one point during the event. 
“He gouged me in the arm, gouged me in the leg. I got a couple licks in this year,” said the 40-year-old Calgarian, who plans to take part again next year.
Sunday night’s edition of Running With the Bulls attracted another field of 80 competitors including five who drove all the way from Niagra Falls, Ont. The friends had car trouble on the way out and had to pay $1,000 to fix the transmission.
Perhaps it was only fitting that one of the visiting thrill seekers named James took home the top prize to help pay for the repairs.