This time, it was personal (and a big deal, to boot)

Last update: October 7, 2007 - 10:30 PM

Some people run marathons to discover the boundaries of their humanity.

College student Paul Quackenboss ran his first Sunday at the Twin Cities Marathon searching for a date.

Quackenboss scrawled a personal ad on his sleeveless T-shirt and hit the road running. He listed his telephone number and these attributes: He's single, mature, adventurous, an accountant, a Ted Thompson fan and -- in a reference to a line in the movie "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" -- he's a big deal.

But by the time he had completed his run, he still hadn't found the girl.

"I just decided it'd be something fun and what better exposure than this: 20,000 runners and all these fans?" said Quackenboss, who is studying accounting and finance at Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

"I was pointing out my shirt to women in the crowd as I ran, but nobody was that receptive. Well, some older women were, but none young."

Maybe Quackenboss defeated himself before he even began: Running in Minnesota, he also wrote the jersey number and surname of Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre on the back of his shirt. By the way, the reference to being a big Ted Thompson fan? He's the Packers general manager.

As for being a big deal?

"I don't think I am," Quackenboss said, after finishing in 4 hours, 22 minutes. "I just think it's a funny phrase."

PHOTO AND STORY BY JERRY ZGODA

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