A FORMER Ballarat man is lucky to be alive after he was gored while running with the bulls in Pamplona.Mitch Davie, 24, had his femoral artery in his thigh pierced by the horns of the bull after he slipped at the end of the run and was left helpless on the ground.He had just completed the second daily run at the San Fermin festival in Pamplona last week after getting through the first day unscathed.The end of the run finishes in a bull-fighting ring where runners are supposed to keep clear and watch on as matadors escort the bulls to safety.However, Mr Davie was still in close vicinity and was waving his arms at the 500 kilogram bull before it turned on him.The bull was not with the rest of the pack, which is said to often result in more aggression.It attacked him while he was on the ground and drove its horns into his leg, before eventually being distracted by matadors.Mr Davie can be seen in this video as the last person getting hurt by a bull in the ring.Mr Davie was treated immediately at the scene before being taken to a Spanish hospital, where he is still being treated.His mother Belinda, a nurse educator who now lives in Ocean Grove, said she was “fairly devastated” when she heard the news.She is yet to speak with him and has only communicated by Facebook.“Fortunately he was fairly lucky as it could have been worse,” Mrs Davie said. “He could’ve been killed.” International media has labelled Mr Davie as reckless and malicious and that he was taunting the bull.But his mother said that could not have been further from the truth.“He has always been a very excitable boy, he would have just got caught up in the moment,” said Mrs Davie, who was reluctantly aware that her son was doing the run.Mr Davie grew up in Buninyong and attended Ballarat Clarendon College.He then studied civil engineering at the University of Ballarat and now lives on the Gold Coast.He remains on antibiotics in hospital and is expected to be released in the coming days.