"You're not a moron. You're only a case of arrested development."
- Chapter 6, The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway



PAMPLONA, Spain — Thousands of daredevils dashed through the narrow streets of Pamplona's historic old quarter on Wednesday for a goring-free first bull run of this year's San Fermin fiesta that unofficially ushers in Spain's summer party season lasting through August.

The thrillseekers raced to keep ahead of six fighting bulls and six bell-tinkling steers tasked with trying to keep the beasts together along the 930-yard course from a holding pen to the northern city's bull ring.

Several runners were knocked to the ground and some were trampled on by the animals weighing more than 1,100 pounds but there were no gorings or life-threatening injuries.

An 18-year-old man from Melbourne, Australia, suffered an eye injury and a 20-year old Spaniard suffered multiple contusions, the government of Navarra state said on its website. Both were hospitalized under observation but their injuries were not considered serious. The statement identified them only by their initials.

The 8 a.m. run is the highlight of the nine-day street drinking festival, and comes after a full day and night of hard partying.

Dozens of runners, dressed in the festival's traditional white shirts and pants with red sashes, sang a chant to a statue of San Fermin at the start of the route seconds before a firecracker rocket blast signaled the release of the bulls from the pen.

Waiting on a corner was retired American pilot Peter Rostow, who then dashed about 35 yards alongside the bulls on a cobblestoned street before taking cover in a doorway, his heart pumping with adrenaline. He drank no wine or sangria the day before to prepare — only water.

snip

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38122443/ns/world_news-europe/

This has to be the most retarded thing I have seen humans do

Reveler gored at running of the bulls

PAMPLONA, Spain — One man was gored and two others injured in a panic-filled third running of the bulls Friday at Spain's San Fermin festival that saw at least three people sent airborne by the beasts.

One of the six bulls caused more chaos when he separated from the pack and prompted several minutes of fear as he charged runners and tried to break through wooden barriers separating onlookers from the bull run.

Professional bull keepers, helped by experienced runners, finally coaxed the bull into the arena to end the run lasting 6 minutes and 23 seconds — more than double the usual time.

Navarra Hospital's Dr. Fernando Boneta said one person was gored in the thigh. Two others were hospitalized for head and rib injuries that happened when they fell or were trampled.

The goring victim was a 20-year-old Briton, and the other victims were a 39-year-old Briton and a 46-year-old Spaniard, the Navarra region's government said in a statement. They were identified only by their initials.

Slippery route
Thousands of people took part in the morning dash ahead of the bulls and six bell-tinkling steers who try to keep the beasts together along the 930-yard course from a holding pen to the northern town's bull ring.

Light early morning rain left the route in Pamplona's historic old quarter slippery, prompting the bulls and the runners to repeatedly skid and fall on the cobblestoned streets.

Some of the most dramatic moments occurred when several runners just missed being gored by bulls that used their snouts and foreheads to slingshot the runners into the air and crashing down on the streets.

Two people who were gored in Thursday's run remained hospitalized on Friday.

The runs, eight in all, are the highlight of Pamplona's nine-day street festival, which also features around-the-clock drinking that attracts tens of thousands of people, many from abroad, eager to party.

The event is broadcast live on Spanish television and the bulls that run each morning are killed in the evening in the bullring, their meat served up in Pamplona's restaurants.

Dozens of people are injured in the runs each year. Gorings produce the most dramatic injuries and generate extensive comment in Spain's media, but most hurt runners sustain their injuries after falling or being trampled. Last year's festival saw the first fatal goring in nearly 15 years.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38162979/ns/world_news-europe/