A few minutes of looking around on the internet will tell you that THON is a 46 hour dance marathon that is For The Kids (FTK). However, if you have never attended you are probably thinking, what exactly does that mean?

One aspect about THON that I did not realize until I came to Penn State was that THON is really a year round effort, and there is always some sort of THON fundraiser happening no matter the time of the year. The 46 Hour Dance Marathon that happens in the BJC every year in February is just the culmination of the year round efforts put in by thousands of student volunteers to help raise money in pursuit of a cure for childhood cancer.

Some big events held annually to prepare for THON are the THON 5K and the 100 days til THON event held in the HUB. I know as being part of the Club Cross Country Team (one of the top general orgs in raising money for THON), we held THON fundraisers all the time. Our biggest event, Miles For Smiles, consisted of our teammates running on a treadmill for 46 hours (the same length as THON weekend) switching off in hour or half hour increments. 

Even though people explained it to me multiple times, I never understood exactly what happened at THON weekend until I was there. The THON dancers are certain people from each organization that stand on the floor at the BJC for the entire event. That’s right, no sleeping and no sitting for 46 hours straight. Any dancer that makes it through the entire weekend has all of my respect, I was getting tired just standing in the stands. 

At THON they bring in bands to play live music, have dance groups perform, and play the biggest hits from every decade. Approximately every hour, you can expect to be having a blast while struggling through the THON line dance, an interpretive dance led by people on stage that recaps all the events of the year and gets everyone in the BJC stretched and moving. 

You should plan to be spending way more time in the BJC than you were expecting. It really is timeless inside. The clock could be striking 4am but you’d never know it based on the number of college students jumping around inside. I highly recommend going to THON at bizarre times. Other great times to be there are Saturday night during the THON Pep Rally. All of the sports teams hop on stage and compete against each other to see who has the best dance routine. This year, men’s soccer had it pretty well wrapped up. 

The best time to go is during the final four, the last 4 hours of THON on Sunday. This is when they perform the line dances from previous years, and they bring in THON families to tell their stories. It’s at that point where everyone in the arena grasps the impact that this wonderful program has made.