Over 100 Appalachian State University students will crowd into Legends Saturday, Feb. 25, ready to dance their hearts out.

Appalachian and the Community Together (ACT) is hosting its ninth annual Dance Marathon, which will benefit Western Youth Network, Parent to Parent and the Children's Miracle Network.

Students involved will spend 15 straight hours - from 11 a.m. Saturday to 2 p.m. Sunday.

"It's surprisingly easier to do than you think," event Co-Coordinator AJ Anglim said. "You do get to sit down, but only when you're eating. It's something you can look back on though and say, 'I danced for 15 hours.'"

Each participant is expected to raise funds before dancing in the event. The goal is for every student to raise $10 an hour and $150 at the end of the marathon. Students may register with a club, as a group of friends or individually. Clubs and organizations can also sponsor their own members in the event.

"Groups stay together, but are put with other groups," Co-Coordinator Patrick Holder said. "They then dance together, eat together and take breaks together. There are a lot of breaks and other performances."

The event is considered a fundraiser, but there is a prize involved. All clubs, groups and teams are qualified to win the Chancellor's Cup.

"In the past two years, Catholic Campus Ministries and the Student Leadership Floor have won the cup," said Kate Johnson, ACT's associate director for community service. "Student Leadership Floor feels motivated by last year's win and there have been rumors that the leadership alumni will be competing against this year's team."

The ACT Dance Marathon was held for the first time in 2003. Since then, the event has experienced growth and changes in structure.

"The marathon used to be 24 hours, then we changed it to 13.1, then to 13," Johnson said. "We also changed the fundraising from $240 to $150."

The marathon used to be a homecoming service project, but was replaced by the annual homecoming blood drive. The change in dates resulted in less student participation, but in the past few years the number of dancers has increased steadily.

"Patrick came in and wasn't even co-chair and convinced us to use online software for fundraising," Johnson said. "We went from raising $11,000 to $30,000."

Appalachian is one of 150 schools across the country to host an annual dance marathon. ACT's event may not be as large as other schools, but receives good participation for the size of the Appalachian student body, Anglim said.

"We have really good dancer retention, and for the size of school we are," Anglim said. "We really do have a good marathon."

Students interested in Dance Marathon can register at act.appstate.edu.

Story: MEGAN WRAPPE, Lifestyles Reporter