Mercer Island native Brandon Fellows, 22, a graduate of Mercer Island High School, finished in third place in the men’s race at the 2009 Seattle Marathon on Nov. 29.

Fellows, who currently is a member of the University of Michigan track and field team as a distance runner, finished the Seattle race in 2:35:19. It was Fellows’ first full marathon race.

“I’d always thought about doing a marathon; I’ve always been a runner, and I just kind of decided to do it and it worked out that I was in Seattle for Thanksgiving,” said Fellows. He said that as a lifelong runner, people often ask if he had ever done a marathon before, and it just seemed like a natural progression. Plus, as an added perk, Fellows said running in Seattle is nice, even on the roads, because the scenery is great.

Charlie Sunderlage, of Bellingham, won the men’s race with a time of 2:32.27, and Jesse Stevick of Olympia was second with a time of 2:33.33.

During his time at MIHS, Fellows finished third in state in the 1,600-meter distance race during his senior year track season and earned a fifth-place overall finish at the boys cross country meet, helping the boys team to a seventh-place finish in 2004 as a senior. At the University of Michigan, he finished 17th in the 5,000 meter at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships in May.

Fellows said the race will not be his last foray into the world of marathons. He plans to try it again in the future, but he is currently focused on getting ready for the beginning of the indoor track season, which starts in January.

For full results of the Nov. 29 Seattle Marathon, visit: www.seattlemarathon.org.