Volunteer Frank Duncan is in Charge of the Bags

Frank Duncan has been puked on.

He's been passed out on. He's been a shoulder to cry on, and he's been the first person to embrace a runner crossing the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

"I've had people just look at me and start crying," he said. "And I've given them a hug and said how great they did."

Duncan, who lives on the corner of Marlborough and Hereford streets, is also the man responsible for ensuring nearly 27,000 bags are returned to runners after the 26.2 mile race.

For the past seven years he's coordinated more than 350 volunteers in charge making sure the bags, stored on 55 buses in Hopkinton and driven to Boston, make it back to their respective owners.

The first year he started, there was a 4 - 5 percent rate of lost luggage. Last year, that number was less than 1 percent. 

If someone loses their bag, "We'll take down their information," Duncan said. "Most of the time we're able to find it and return it to the runner." If worse comes to worst, any leftover bags will be sent to the Boston Athletic Association office after the race. But more often than not, he'll just call peoples' cell phones and they'll have it back before they leave the finish line.

"It's controlled chaos, in some respects," he said.

And every year is different.

"Last year," he said, "I lost my voice and had to walk around with a blowhorn."

Controlled chaos is right

Returning bags is Duncan's official job. He really does whatever needs to be done at the finish line.

"You've got to wear a lot of hats," he said. "We kind of handle everything."

He's tracked down runners who have forgotten to take their medals. He's helped them find family members, and reassured frantic parents when their kids are in the medical tent. He's lent out cab money, and let racers borrow his cell phone to make international calls.

Duncan has played therapist, and trainer, and even helped athletes tie their shoes.

"Sometimes these people can't bend over," he said.

Maybe one day

"I probably do a half marathon myself that day," Duncan joked.

He has not, however, ever run the race himself.

"I've run one (a marathon)," he said. "But not outside of a triathlon. They've offered to let me do (Boston), but then I think about who's going to do my job."

Duncan has always been an avid athlete. For years he would watch the runners from his house as they turned onto Hereford Street from Beacon Street, and wonder what it was like from behind the scenes. 

"I thought, let me see the race from that perspective," he said.

So he signed up to become one of the nearly 8,000 volunteers that make it happen.

"It's fun, and everyone is so appreciative," he said. "They're so happy, and so grateful. These runners, who just ran 26.2 miles, will applaud us."

Maybe one day he'll run the Boston Marathon, he said. But for now, he's happy being on the sidelines.

"It's amazing to be that close, and watch, and see everyone," he said. "It's amazing to see the energy and power of this race. It tears and lifts people across the finish line."