Fat Bottomed Boys & Girls ‘The Bull Run’ Diaries

TIP’s ‘Fat Bottomed Boys & Girls’ team has completed its 12th charity cycle ride, cycling approximately 350 kms across southern Spain in 3 days - and support for this year’s effort, dubbed the ‘The Bull Run’, has seen the fundraising target smashed once again !

This year, the team was 52 in number and, as always, it was a mix of cycling abilities from across the UK and Ireland transport industry, including 12 newcomers to the team.

The challenge this year was to help raise £100,000 for the Staffordshire-based hospice, Dougie Mac hospice, which provides vital end-of-life care and support to local people.

We are delighted that this years target has been reached !

A massive thank you to all those involved, from official sponsors, donators, others supporting the event and, of course, the cyclists themselves.

This means that the various FBB&G teams have raised more than €1m (one million euros) for various charitable causes from the 12 efforts to date.

However, we haven’t quite finished the fundraising part for this year yet and if you’d like to make a donation to support the team and this year’s nominated charity, you can still do so by visiting www.justgiving.com/page/tipfbbandg-thebullrun-2026.

… and now for Mike Furnival’s daily summary of the 3-day challenge :-

DAY 1 - 6th May 

The FBB&G class of ‘26 was the biggest ever assembled with 52 riders drawn from the UK, Ireland, France and Italy. The starting point was the typical fortified town of Carmona, high on a hill near the historic city of Seville. 

Our family run hotel had an unmistakable whiff of Hotel California -  ‘you can stay but you can never leave’ ! But leave we did as we assembled in the old town square for a bonding session between the regular contributors and the 12 new team members. Introductions went swimmingly well all afternoon before we all called time before midnight in preparation for one of the toughest day one’s in our cycling history.

Carmona sits on top of a lovely hill but is also sat on very big cobbles. Miles of them! We basically rattled ourselves out of the town for 15 minutes as we set off down the hill towards the ancient city of Cordoba, approx. 120 kms away.

The first 40km session to the water stop was a bit of a dream as fast undulating roads helped all 5 teams reach the refuel station in good time. It was all a bit too good to be true. And we soon found out that it was!  The next session to lunch was a killer as all teams laboured on some huge hills towards lunch, and the more we cycled, the more the road signs kept taking Cordoba further away; it was 63 kms away at one point and 45 mins later it was 65 !

A long lunch in Posada was very welcome, but Dave had a knowing look as he encouraged everyone to ‘carb up’ for the final 50km leg. ‘You’ll need it’ he said with an enigmatic smile!  

And did we! The hills were relentless in 30-degree temperatures as we all toiled towards our final destination. Teams got mixed up in the uphill scramble before we made the final ridge above the city. All safe and sound but extremely fatigued after 120kms and 1200m of climbing.

Cordoba is an amazing city with the famous Mezquita at its heart. I would thoroughly recommend visiting, preferably by plane or car !

It was a weary, quieter group that sat down for dinner. An even tougher day beckons tomorrow but, in true FBB&G fashion, we’ll accept the challenge - after we’ve had ‘one for the road’ in the hotel bar. 😉

www.justgiving.com/page/tipfbbandg-thebullrun-2026.

Best regards

Mike

DAY 2 - 7th May

I love an adjective or two but there’s only one to describe Day 2 – Brutal… absolutely Brutal ! 

Everyone was briefed on the mileage, tough but doable; the climbing, even tougher but we’d have a go - but they forgot to mention the head on wind !

Because of the distance and climbing, we were down for breakfast at 6.30, needing to push off at 8am. There were some tired limbs and very sore bottoms at the breakfast table but everyone was up for the day. The weather forecast was decent but rain was in the area if we didn’t get moving.  

We left cultural Cordoba on time and very quickly hit a 5km climb out of the city. The wind was a bit fresher than anticipated but the legs were ok. A never-ending undulation of hills took us to a mid-morning coffee stop in Fernano Nunez, a town straight out of the film ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’, which pretty much sums up the route! 

Refreshed and all making good time, we pushed on through the back lanes of Andalusia with its relentless hills towards the lunch stop at the lovely hill-top (naturally) town of Lucena. En-route, the wind had really picked up from the south and team 4 had to shelter from a hailstone attack. We were 80 kms in and pretty exhausted as we finally sat in the sunny square to take on some much needed lunch carbs.

Pushing off after lunch we immediately started climbing out of the hill-top town, which felt a bit weird, before a long, fast downhill section provided some relief for the legs. As we hurtled down towards El Tejar, you just knew there’d be payback and the long 3km climb back out hurt everyone.

The final 25 km flat run into Antequera should have been a blast but by 6pm we faced that 40km headwind. As I said at the start - Brutal.

However, all teams made it safely to the hotel. Conquered one of the toughest days ever in FBB&G history; an amazing display of teamwork to get the job done - so proud of everyone.

There was a lot of euphoria and pride in the restaurant at night but not the usual amount of beers getting drunk. My Strava recorded 133kms distance and 1,741 metres of climbing (5,700 ft in old money) !

Day 3 beckons and most of the guys have turned in early - but I’m sure some will have found the only Irish bar in town !

www.justgiving.com/page/tipfbbandg-thebullrun-2026.

Best regards

Mike

DAY 3 - 8th May

After an exhausting Day 2, it had been an earlyish night for everyone in preparation for the final run towards Malaga.

With just 60kms to complete, a later start was planned and everyone tucked into a hearty breakfast to fuel the body. There was an air of ‘nearly there’ about the place and the smiles were back after the trauma of the long and windy finish the previous day. With a clear head and a shortish route, confidence had returned - but it was short lived !

All the teams assembled outside where Adam described an 8 mile climb straight out of the front door of the hotel,  climbing an additional 1600 ft to the peak ! On a full breakfast!!!? His last piece of advice was to “check your brakes cos it’s more than 3,000ft back down into Malaga; the roads are a bit scary so please take your time”.

On a lovely warm sunny morning, he also advised we take a jacket because of the altitude. At first, we thought he was joking, but then as we kept cycling upwards and spotted the ridge of El Torcal high above us, we realised he wasn’t. I’m not sure how El Torcal translates into English, but we concocted a few names for it as we grunted and sweated up the torturous incline to the top. Adam was right, it was absolutely freezing up there !

Some of the Group 1 guys recorded amazing times,  even ahead of the Goats ! The rest of us heard voices and saw mirages in our tortured state but all the teams toiled together to reach the summit for a well-earned rest.

The next 10 miles were undulating and the views amazing as we crossed the 3,000ft high ridge high above the city. Finally, we started to descend - slightly at first before the road really dipped and we anxiously checked our brakes. Well, not everyone was so anxious. ‘Shearer’ got warned by the police for speeding, exceeding the 50km speed limit and Pev broke the bobsleigh speed record as they both proved themselves to be downhill specialists - the rest of us hung on for grim death!!

Finally, we reached lunch at 43kms, shattered yet exhilarated after the descent. Only 17kms to go to our final destination, the Plaza de Toros in Malaga - the Bullring!

Of course, there was just one more horrible little 2km kick upwards into the lovely white village of Almogia before we started to hit the elevated outskirts of the city. The traffic started to build and we could see the Mediterranean far below. The head suddenly started to feel lighter and the legs began to work again as the teams threaded through the heavy traffic - and even a final tunnel to arrive safely at the Malaga Bullring. The relief after three punishing days was indescribable.

Dave had facilitated parking for our ‘Bully’ trailer inside the compound where the bulls are corralled and then we were allowed to cycle around the arena like a bunch of 10-year olds; fantastic fun. The cava was popped and the celebrations began.

The team of 2026 had endured one of the toughest trips with the highest climbs ever and relentless days in the saddle.. everyone had been pushed to their limits.

The weather had been kind apart from the final windy run on Day 2, but nobody moaned; they just stuck together and got the job done -  a special group of people.

Big thanks to everyone that has supported us again this year, it was an emotional trip in so many ways.

We truly appreciate that times are tough but the incredible support for this initiative and the nominated charity has been amazing.

www.justgiving.com/page/tipfbbandg-thebullrun-2026.

Best regards

Mike