Norcross Runner in Boston Marathon Says He's OK

Norcross resident David Brunner ran in the Boston Marathon on Monday and was lucky enough to finish and leave the race by the time the explosions occurred.

"We're trying to take it all in and figure out where to go from here," said Brunner, who is in Boston with his mom and her husband. "We're very fortunate, and our hearts and prayers go out to those who were impacted by the terrible events that took place."

Brunner, 49, is one of the five runners from Norcross who are listed on the Boston Marathon website. He finished the race at a personal record of three hours and five minutes, while the explosions took place at four hours and nine minutes on the race clock.

"I was already back at the hotel room," he said. "I had already taken a shower. I think I was just lucky to switch the television on, rather than taking a nap."

He immediately contacted everyone he knew to let them know he was OK. He called his wife and two kids, 8 and 12; wrote messages on Facebook; and sent an email to everyone at his place of work in Alpharetta.

"This was the first time I saw benefits from social media," he said. "It was nice to have that form of communication there to communicate with everyone."

Brunner also is extremely grateful to have left the race shortly after he finished. "If I hadn't had my parents with me, I would have likely been waiting in the area of the explosion for my friends to cross the finish."

The Norcross runner knew two other people running the marathon who both made it out without injury. One of them is Alpharetta resident Diane Seale, whom he knows through their once-a-weekly run club, the Windward Road Runners. He said she also finished before the explosion took place.

Brunner also is friends with Nikki Mills, a woman from Britain who ran to raise funds for a charity. Her husband, Chris, was there cheering for his wife in the VIP stands. Brunner said Mills was probably a mile away from the explosion when it happened.

"She was running a little late, which I think is fortunate," he said, adding that her husband blogged about the incident.

Currently, Brunner is still in Boston with his parents and doesn't leave until Wednesday afternoon. He called the atmosphere "somber" and "quiet" in the northern town.

"I think people don't really know how to react," he said.

But despite the tragedy, Brunner still plans to see Boston with his family and a few friends. They plan to see the historic sites, eat pizza at the famous Regina's restaurant, walk along the Freedom Trail, and get as close as they can to the Boston Marathon site.

"We're just going to try to go out and enjoy Boston and carry on," he said. "We're not going to let this stop us from enjoying the city."

Just having started running in December 2010, Brunner said the Boston marathon is his fourth 26.2-mile race, and he doesn't plan on stopping, either. In fact, he wants to qualify for next year's race, too.

"[The incident] kind of confirmed it for me," he said. "I was debating not running it next year, but given what's been going on and the fact that I'll be 50 next year, I'm most certainly going to be back here. We are all more determined than ever to run it again next year."

And he would like to race with a larger group, too. After hearing other local residents were in the Boston Marathon, Brunner said he wants to connect with other runners in Norcross who've shared this experience. He would like to run with them as a group in the 2014 race and also train together in the Norcross area.

For updates on the Boston Marathon explosion, head to the Fenway-Kenmore Patch in Boston.

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See also:

• 5 Runners from Norcross in Boston Marathon as Explosion Rocks Race

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