PAMPLONA, Spain -- The first bull run in three years took place Thursday at the San Fermín festival in the Spanish city of Pamplona. No one was gored, but several runners took knocks and hard falls as tens of thousands of people reveled in the return of one of Europe's most famous traditional events.

Six bulls guided by six tame oxen charged through Pamplona’s streets for around two minutes and 35 seconds without provoking too much carnage among the thousands of observers and participants cramming the course.

Several runners were stomped, trampled or shoved to the cobblestone pavement. An animal's horn smacked at least two men in the head, but neither suffered a skewering.

The Pamplona hospital said six people were brought in for treatment. They included a 30-year-old American man who fractured his left arm and a 16-year-old Spanish girl who lost part of a finger in the bullring, where a pile-up of runners occurred at the entrance. Four Spanish men between the ages of 19 and 45 also were injured.

Ryan Ward, an American tourist from San Diego, California, said the risk of running with the bulls was well worth the rush.

“I feel like I need to cry. It’s just so many emotions built up in me, running with ‘mis amigos’ (my friends). I don’t know where they are, I lost everyone,” he said after finishing the bull run unscathed.

"It felt like two seconds, it was probably like a minute when I actually had the bulls running by me, but it felt so quick, like a blink and it was gone,” Ward continued. “It’s amazing, incredible, one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.”