It began at 9 a.m. as students ran into the Great Hall of the Memorial Union. A teal spiral began wrapping its way around the room, closing in on the center as flashes of black, green, red and yellow made their way around the curves. Once the hundreds of students filed in, Dance Marathon 2009 was ready to begin.

The colors of shirts designated roles, blue for dancer, red for executive and green for sponsored families. Students were divided into teams — each a different animal or imaginary creature. These team names organized the participants and directed the order for mealtime and family visits.

As each hour ticked by, the Campanile bells rang, indicating the morale dance. After a mad dash to the Great Hall, everyone was ready for the signature dance mix. After each morale dance, the families directly supported by Dance Marathon were given the chance to take the stage and share their stories. Families told promising tales of their children’s lives and of the incredible work performed by doctors at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital. The families shared their thanks for all the dancers and encouraged them to push through the day.

The dancers were still standing as they listened. Feet and backs started to hurt, but that discomfort holds little weight compared to pacing a hospital hallway at 3 a.m. or sleeping night after night in a recliner in a waiting room. Having the families come to Ames to be part of the day’s activities put a face and personal meaning to why students raised funds.

As many families put it, students don’t know how much of an impact their work does and how much they can change lives.

“I was a dancer last year and part of a committee this year. I enjoyed Dance Marathon more this year cause I think I put more time and effort in it,” said Elisabeth Godfrey, junior in elementary education and member of the families committee. “At one point during one of the morale dances the little girl I had on piggy-back squeezed me tight during ‘You’ve Got A Friend in Me’ and said we could be best friends. That was the best part of my day.”

The day was a celebration: recognizing the families for their endurance, the children’s success stories and the contributions made by students.

“The event that keeps playing over and over again is when Aidan Mundy was graduating and at the end said ‘Life Is Awesome.’ Dance Marathon had gotten him to the point where he had the rest of his life in front of him and I knew that we had done something to make a difference” said Clark Richardson, senior in agricultural business and executive co-chairman of Dance Marathon.

The graduation program began last year and honors previous Dance Marathon children who had gone on to have five years without treatment.

The Memorial Union was fully taken over by the event. Beyond the Great Hall students could play games and sing karaoke in the South Ballroom, head to the Oak Room for snacks and take part in activities such as bingo and salsa dance lessons on the third floor. The Underground was also opened to participants for part of the day. Students could bowl for free and catch up on the Cyclone basketball game against the University of Kansas.

“There is plenty of entertainment as far as board games and cards. They had dancing lessons and four square. I think the other activities were put well together. The foosball tables were good,” said Riley Thiesfeld, freshmen in mechanical engineering.

During the final hour of the Marathon, Kaleb Stebens sang “You Raise me Up” by Josh Groban. Stebens is now an ISU freshmen in open option – liberal arts and sciences. He was previously a Dance Marathon miracle child and this year fulfilled his dream to attend Dance Marathon as a student and contribute his help to the cause. His voice started alone, but was joined by the crowds and soon the rafters of the Great Hall echoed a soft version of the ballad in a unified voice.

After the song ended the final countdown to sitting was about to begin. Aching feet were relieved as the mass sit-down occurred at midnight, marking the end of the 2009 marathon.

Finally, the time had come to reveal the amount of money raised for the hospital. Dance Marathon miracle children opened umbrellas simultaneously revealing the final total of over $171,000. Applause rang out and the final countdown to sitting was about to begin.

A final slideshow played, reliving a year of events and highlighting the day that had just passed. Students were ready to stand up and leave, but for a final time the bells rang out and the morale dance was performed.

“It honestly could not have gone any better than it did. It went flawlessly, entertainment to the schedule and we could tell how excited everyone was to be there,” Richardson said. “We heard from many of the families that it was the best DM they had gone to at ISU.”

Dance Marathon-funded projects since 2000

Comfort kits

ICU critical care cribs

Magazine subscriptions

Massage program

Pagers for families

“The Race Car” – 4 Wheel IV Cars

Renovations

Robotic surgery camera

Robotic teaching instrument

Sim Baby

Stickers and novelty Band-Aids

Fundraising over the years

1998: First Dance Marathon, raised more than $20,000

2007: raised more than $146,000

2008: raised more than $160,000

2009: raised more than $171,000

Know the Dance Marathon lingo

Morale captains: individual team leaders, usually costumed

Miracle children: children supported by ISU Dance Marathon

Dance Marathon angels: children no longer with us, whose memories are celebrated throughout the event with a lit candle

Morale dance: a mix of songs and dance moves performed every hour, on the hour

Run-in: entrance into the Great Hall to begin the day

Power hour: final-hour dancing blitz

Final slideshow: recap of the past year of Dance Marathon events