When they called his name for the Grand Masters at this year's Cooper River Bridge Run, he was stunned. With a time of thirty-seven and a half minutes, local Summerville resident David Bourgeois placed 3rd in the 50-54 age group. In a race that every year attracts world-class athletes as well as over twenty nine thousand finishers, this is quite an accomplishment.

David began running cross-country at age 15 while a sophomore in high school. He stopped running for several years after high school. The forestry college he attended near Lake Placid, NY didn't have a cross country team so he joined the Nordic Ski Team. When he moved to SC in 1979, he had gained 20 lbs. To get the weight off and get back in shape he began running with a neighbor and has been running pretty regularly ever since.

Even with a number of marathons under his belt, David considers himself a mid-distance runner. He generally runs 6 days a week during the cooler months with fewer weekly runs in the heat of summer. He averages 20-25 miles a week, more if he has a particular race goal in mind. In preparing for the bridge run this year, he began increasing his weekly mileage from 20 miles to 30 miles in January and February. He added speed work to his regimen along with a weekly long run of 10-14 miles on the weekend.

In the fall of 2006, David's daughter Renee became interested in running. She joined the Summerville Storm cross country team. Head coach, Kelly Hazel asked David if he would help out with the coaching. A little reluctant due to his lack of coaching experience, David agreed to give it a try. He has helped coach the cross country team for 2 years now and is in his second season helping with the Storm track team. Most practices you will find him running with the kids, just as his high school cross country coach did. "My high school coach ran with us during practice and we always had great respect for him." For David, the most rewarding part of his work with the Summerville Storm "is seeing a group of kids run together at the end of the season when they have truly become a team. They cheer each other on in victory and in defeat, and they find out that they are better than they knew that they could be".

When asked to sum up what running means to him David responds that running allows him to eat well, sleep well and live well. With family as his top priority, "running is an exercise that I can do with a minimal amount of time and disruption to family." According to David, "all I need to run is a pair of running shoes, all I need to alleviate stress is to run faster and all I need for therapy is to go running with a friend."