Red sashes and fake mustaches flew as the wave of fishnet stockings, red lipstick and horns rolled into the sprinting crowd.
More than 200 people attended the second annual Highland Running of the Bulls. In a nod to the traditional running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, runners dressed in white with various versions of red kerchiefs. They were chased down nine city blocks by about 30 women from the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls Roller Derby team.
The fundraiser raised several thousand dollars for the Tennyson Center for Children, which is just blocks from where the race began at West 32nd Avenue and Tennyson Street on Saturday.
“It’s events like this that put the ‘fun’ back in fundraising,” said Dave Sevick, director of marketing for the Tennyson Center.
Last summer’s inaugural run surpassed expectations and raised several thousand dollars for the center, which works with abused or neglected children.
Chris Gilliam entered this year’s race on a dare. Gilliam and a group of his friends, who all live in the Highland neighborhood, ended up entering the race together.
“All the other neighbors were doing it,” Gilliam said. “Anything that is positive for this neighborhood is great.”
The Highland Bulls borrowed the idea from a similar event in New Orleans, said Niles Emerick, who organized the event. Emerick said the event will continue to grow as the years go on and could even include a Spanish festival.
“It’s the perfect storm for getting everyone together,” Emerick said.
Brendan Haigney, 31, called himself “Roller Derby bait” as he smiled from behind a fake beard his stepmother had knitted for him.
“I think this whole idea is freakin’ awesome, and being chased down by Roller Derby girls with horns is epic,” Haigney said.
Haigney and a group of about 20 friends had one strategy going into the race — safety in numbers. The group taped red X’s on their backs as a team logo before the whistle blew.
Those red X’s were exactly what Bijou “Blacknblue” Angeli was looking for. Angeli skated her way through the runners, swinging her foam bat.
“It’s been the envy of the town to do this event,” Angeli said.
The Roller Derby masters, dressed in their uniforms with helmets topped by a set of horns, charged through the crowd, swatting runners. Some runners did their best to outrun them, but others were laughing too hard to run any faster.
Jordan Steffen: 303-954-1794, jsteffen@denverpost.com or
