Dancers' "second wind" sweeps through Louis Room

Twenty hours into Dance Marathon, the mood inside the Louis Room has started to lift, as participants enter the seventh break and final third of DM.

"I stopped feeling pain a long time ago," said McCormick senior Leslie Gittings, who is participating in her first DM. "Now it's just adrenaline."

Gittings said her energy level at any given moment "depends on the song." Her favorites include anything she can sing to.

One such song was the 1980s classic "Take Me Home Tonight." Several circles of dancers jumped up and down, pumping their fists and yelling the words.

"There's like a second wind going through the crowd," McCormick freshman Kalan Kirchner said. "It feels electric."

McCormick sophomore Lauren Smith said DM has been "exhausting, but rewarding."

"It helps to keep optimistic, knowing that you're two thirds done," Smith said.

There's no real strategy to surviving the last ten hours, said Weinberg sophomore Allison Hansen.

"I really can't feel my feet anymore," Hansen said. "Just suck it up and finish."

"I'm just going to keep it going and keep partying hard," Kirchner said.

Nomaan Merchant/The Daily Northwestern