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CONTACT: Natalie Rule or Sarah Idowu at 651.917.3525

RUNNING DOWN A DREAM

Two Minnesota Men to Run 100 Miles of the Himalayas Nov. 3-7 to Make College Possible

St. Paul, Minn. – With many months of training behind them, Twin Cities residents Patrick O’Shaughnessy and Scott Penticoff leave the United States this week for India where they will run a five-day, 100-mile stage race through the Himalayan Mountains November 3-7, 2008, to raise money to help more young people achieve their dream of college through the college prep program offered by nonprofit Admission Possible. 

Please call 651.917.3525 with interview requests for O’Shaughnessy or Penticoff.

To make a donation or learn more:  www.AdmissionPossible.org/Himalayan_Run or http://100milerun.admissionpossible.org/

Penticoff and O’Shaughnessy will be two of only a handful of Americans competing in the 18^th Annual International Himalayan 100 Mile Stage Race next week through the mountains of India to include Mt. Everest.  The two men hope their run will raise at least $20,000 in donations from individuals for Admission Possible, a 501(c)(3) Twin Cities-based nonprofit working to make college admission possible for promising low-income students through intensive after-school college prep programming.

If technology allows, O’Shaughnessy and Penticoff intend to blog about the experience on their website throughout the week so supporters, Admission Possible students, and others can feel part of the grueling physical challenge.  The blog is available at http://100MileRun.AdmissionPossible.org.

While Penticoff, 38, is a competitive tri-athlete and O’Shaughnessy, 38, a frequent marathoner, neither has taken on a challenge such as this.  However, the runners say they are eager to push themselves physically in hopes of inspiring low-income high school students to dream big and set high goals – goals such as getting into college. 

Penticoff said, "When thinking about the daunting task of running 100 miles in the Himalayan Mountains, I get inspiration from the 1,300 kids in the Admission Possible program.  I think about the goals they set and how impossible it can seem at times, but with the right support and tools anything can be accomplished.” 

O’Shaughnessy added, “The reward for me is giving back to an organization that I know is making a difference; when I cross the finish line, Admission Possible will continue their race to reach out to more kids, and that is very important to me.” 

Admission Possible has successfully assisted 99 percent of the low-income students they have worked with since 2000 earn admission to college.  Nearly 80 percent of those enrolled students continue to work toward their college degree or have already graduated.  Across the nation, approximately 200,000 students from low-income backgrounds graduate from high school each year prepared for college but don’t go for a variety of reasons, chief among them – lack of understanding about the process and inability to identify financial resources. 

Jim McCorkell, founder and CEO of Admission Possible, noted, “An important message for our students is that there is nothing like the success that comes from achieving a goal through your own hard work and dedication.  We at Admission Possible are very excited to support Patrick and Scott as they work to reach such a challenging goal in inspiring our students.”

Donations supporting the run of O’Shaughnessy and Penticoff will help grow the number of students reached by the college preparatory programming provided currently to 1,300 low-income high school juniors and seniors in the Greater Twin Cities by Admission Possible.

Penticoff and O’Shaughnnessy are encouraging people to get onto their website and make a donation to Admission Possible, and to join them in ‘running down the dream’ of college for promising low-income students.

ABOUT ADMISSION POSSIBLE

Admission Possible is a nonprofit organization founded in Minnesota in 2000 and dedicated to helping promising low-income high school students prepare for and earn admission to college by providing ACT/SAT test preparation, admissions and financial aid consulting and guidance in the transition to college.  In the 2008-09 academic year, Admission Possible will serve 1,300 students at 17 high schools in the Twin Cities metro area and will begin programming for low-income students in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, through a new branch office.  Since 2000, 99 percent of Admission Possible students have been admitted to college.

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