PAMPLONA, Spain (AP) -- Thrill-seekers sprinted through Pamplona in a swift and relatively clean start to the running of the bulls. No one was gored on Tuesday, but four people were hospitalized with bumps, bruises or scrapes, Spanish Red Cross spokesman Jose Aldaba said. "I feared for my life. It was pretty intense," said 23-year-old runner Mark Kowalski of Edmonton, Alberta. The six fighting bulls and six bell-tinkling steers -- meant to keep them in a tight pack -- charged down the 930-yard (850-meter) course from a holding pen to the northern town's bull ring. Runners, wearing traditional white clothing and red kerchiefs around their necks, tripped over each other or fell after getting bumped by bulls or steers. People came from all over the world to test their bravery and enjoy nonstop street parties. Spanish Television said about 2,000 people took part in the first of eight runs at the famed San Fermin festival, made famous by Ernest Hemingway's novel "The Sun Also Rises."(20 images)
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Revelers run on Estafeta Street as people look on from the balconies during the run of the Alcurrucen fighting bulls at the San Fermin festival, in Pamplona, northern Spain, Tuesday, July 7. Thrillseekers sprinted through Pamplona in a swift and relatively clean start to the running of the bulls. No one was gored on Tuesday, but four people were hospitalized with bumps, bruises or scrapes, Spanish Red Cross spokesman Jose Aldaba said. AP / Alvaro Barrientos
People try to get a view of the fighting bulls about to be released through the historic center of Pamplona during the 1st day of the San Fermin running of the bulls fiesta on July 07, in Pamplona, Spain. People run through the streets of Pamplona with fighting bulls for eight mornings during the San Fermin fiesta which was made famous by Earnest Hemmingway's novel 'The Sun Also Rises'. The bullrun tradition in Pamplona dates back to 1591. Getty Images / Denis Doyle
Participants rin in front of Alcurrucen fighting bulls on the first day of the San Fermin bull run on July 7, in Pamplona, northern Spain. On each day of the festival six bulls are released at 8:00 a.m. to run from their corral through the narrow, cobbled streets of the old town over an 850-meter (yard) course. Ahead of them are the runners, who try to stay close to the bulls without falling over or being gored. AFP / Getty Images / Javier
Soriano
Participants run ahead of Jose Cebada Gago fighting bulls on the San Fermin festival, on July 8, in Pamplona, northern Spain. AFP / Getty Images / Pedro Armestre
Runners lead fighting bulls around a corner at Estafeta street during the 1st day of the San Fermin running of the bulls fiesta on July 07, in Pamplona, Spain. Getty Images / Denis Doyle
Revelers run on Estafeta Street during the second run of the Cebada Gago fighting bulls at the San Fermin festival, in Pamplona, northern Spain, Wednesday, July 8. AP / Alvaro Barrientos
Participants run ahead of Jose Cebada Gago fighting bulls on the second day of the San Fermin bull run on July 8, in Pamplona, northern Spain. AFP / Getty Images / Javier Soriano
Revelers run on Estafeta Street as people look on from the balconies during the run of the Alcurrucen fighting bulls at the San Fermin festival, in Pamplona, northern Spain, Tuesday, July 7. AP / Alvaro Barrientos
Participants run ahead of Alcurrucen fighting bulls on the second day of the San Fermin festival, on July 7, in Pamplona, northern Spain. AFP / Getty Images / A. Arrizurieta
Participants run ahead of Alcurrucen fighting bulls on the second day of the San Fermin festival, on July 7, in Pamplona, northern Spain. AFP / Getty Images / Pedro Armestre
Revelers run on Estafeta Street as a man clashes with a bull, right, during the run of the Alcurrucen fighting bulls at San Fermin festival in Pamplona, northern Spain, Tuesday, July 7. AP / Alvaro Barrientos
A reveler is tossed by a young calf in the bullring after the first bullrun at the San Fermin festival, in Pamplona, northern Spain, Tuesday, July 7. AP / Jesus Caso
Revelers fall in front of a bull during the first bullrun of the Alcurrucen fighting bulls at the San Fermin festival, in Pamplona, northern Spain, Tuesday, July 7. AP / Jesus Diges
A runner falls while the gate is closed after the pack of fighting bulls charged past during the 2nd day of the San Fermin running of the bulls fiesta on July 08, in Pamplona, Spain. Getty Images / Denis Doyle
Revelers sing a song and play guitars while taking part in a procession at San Fermin fiestas in Pamplona, northern Spain, Tuesday, July 7. The fiestas 'Los San Fermines' held since 1591, attract tens of thousands of foreign visitors each year for nine days of revelry, morning bull-runs and afternoon bullfights. AP / Alvaro Barrientos
A man holds a "Cabezudo" mask in Pamplona, northern Spain, during the second day of the San Fermin festival, on July 7. AFP / Getty Images / Pedro Armestre
A child is persued by a 'Cabezudo' (Big head) during the 2nd day of the San Fermin running of the bulls fiesta on July 08, in Pamplona, Spain. Getty Images / Denis Doyle
Revelers sing as a man plays guitar while people take part in a procession at San Fermin fiestas in Pamplona, northern Spain, Tuesday, July 7. AP / Alvaro Barrientos
A man weating a matador outfit celebrates on the second day of the San Fermin festival, on July 7, in Pamplona, northern Spain. AFP / Getty Images / Pedro Armestre
People walk down San Nicolas Street early in the morning after the bull run, during the San Fermin Fiestas in Pamplona, northern Spain, Wednesday, July 8. AP / Alvaro Barrientos
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