One unlucky contestant was thrown into the air by a bull. Photo: MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP/Getty Images
Thousands of people participated. in the first bull run at the San Fermin festival in the Spanish city of Pamplona on Friday.
Several runners were hit and fell, but none were gored by the animals, a common sign of the spectacle. .
The festival attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists every year, with almost 1.7 million visiting last year.
Nearly 1.7 million visitors came to Pamplona for the festival last year. Photo: CESAR MANSO/AFP/Getty Images 
One participant managed to escape. Photo: MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP/Getty Images The streets of Pamplona take about two minutes and 30 seconds before reaching the bullring.
It was the first of eight races planned for the coming days.
The festival was made famous by Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Hemingway's first visit to the festival.
Four runners were injured at the festival last year, and 16 people have died in bull races since 1910, most recently in 2009.
Hundreds of participants run through the streets of Pamplona. Photo: Ruben Albarran/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images 
Animal rights protesters demonstrated against the festival earlier this week. Photo: Alvaro Barrientos/AP
The bulls that run every morning are killed by professional bullfighters in the afternoon.< /p>
Animal rights activists campaign against the festival every year and were seen dressed earlier this week in red clothes with horns during a protest.
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