'The Terrorists Won't Win'

Dave Meyer was already back in his hotel room after finishing the Boston Marathon when he and his girlfriend received a startling text message from Meyer's work assistant.

"Don't come back, there were bombs, people are dead."

Meyer's girlfriend and his assistant, who went to Boston to cheer him on, had just been dining at Max Brenner. The restaurant is just two doors down from where the second explosion occurred, and about 500 feet from the site of the first explosion. Meyer's girlfriend left the restaurant to meet him, while his assistant stayed behind.

"Then my assistant called and was very upset. She said bombs went off and people were dead. They were forced into a back room of the restaurant," said Meyer.

He felt fortunate that he'd finished the marathon when he did.

A member of the Grayslake Running Club, Meyer was celebrating his birthday and his first Boston Marathon.

"The marathon is such a joyous occasion. And then to have this happen was just a real contradiction of emotions," said Meyer.

Meyer said he and his girlfriend stayed in their hotel room.

"All we heard was sirens and so forth," he said. When they went down to the hotel's restaurant for dinner that evening, the mood was subdued.

He ventured out Tuesday morning and saw crowds gathered at the intersections near the scene, leaving flowers.

He plans to run the marathon again.

"I'm going to sign up for next year and I'm going to do this again," said Meyer. "The terrorists won't win."