Having trouble fitting in a trip to Pamplona, Spain, for the running of the bulls?

Now there's a closer-to-home alternative: the running of the sheep in San Angelo, Texas.

Laugh if you must, but this has become a big hit with civic and tourism officials. The festival was born last year when a hundred sheep bolted through the streets, shocking the crowd and startling at least one house pet, who was roughed up by a rowdy sheepdog called on to quell the disturbance.

The goal had been to shepherd the herd to historic Fort Concho, a few blocks away. ``It lasted about 20 steps,'' said Benny Cox, who supplied the sheep for last year's event and is doing so again this year. ``They had a nest of llamas up at the start, and if sheep, or horses for that matter, have never seen llamas before, they go crazy.''

The breakout didn't last long. The sheepdogs sprang into action, rounding up the sheep.

This weekend's herd will be twice as big for the second annual Sheep Run, and the International Lamb Cook-Off will feature twice as many teams. (Sorry, you laggards.)

Bookmark this site if you want to attend next year's run:
www.sanangelo-tx.com/SheepRun.html