Here in State College, residents are braving the extreme cold in the streets and students are making the frigid trek to the Bryce Jordan Center for THON. It's cold enough but it doesn't begin to compare to what 30 runners are doing as part of the Hope Express, completing a frigid 135-mile marathon of sorts from the Penn State Hershel Medical Center to the Bryce Jordan Center in less than a day.
Welcome to the central hub of Onward State's THON 2015 coverage. Follow along here for everything going on at the Bryce Jordan Center this weekend at the 43rd annual Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon.
In case you didn't already pick up on the weather trends for February in State College, it is going to be very cold this THON weekend. Last year was a nice exception with unusually warm temperatures, but this year will, unfortunately, not be as nice.
This evening, just as 708 dancers will take to their feet and kick off THON weekend, a dedicated and exhausted group of runners will be finishing the trek from the Penn State Hershey Medical Center to the Bryce Jordan Center.
THON has updated the procedure for entering the BJC tomorrow after news about an impending "polar vortex" was announced for the eastern United States.
Throughout the years, THON weekend has seen its fair share of growth and change. However, it seems as if this year is a particularly altered one: many aspects of THON, from the procedures of committees to the capacity of the floor, have undergone some sort of change. Some make sense in regards to the enormous scale of THON -- others are a bit more confusing to understand.