Dancers and moralers for the Penn State Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon will use more than their dancing shoes tomorrow.
Organizers urge visitors to bring fruit, water, Gatorade and toys to help the dancers stay awake for 48 hours.
"That's really what they need more than anything," Overall Morale Chair Adam Duff said. "If you can give someone a 20-ounce Gatorade, that helps them out."
Duff said small toys will help the dancers pass the time more easily.
"Toys are great to bring, like (a) tennis ball or small racquet balls."
Other novelties Duff recommended were yo-yos, playing cards, crossword puzzles, coloring books, crayons and markers.
"When they get real tired they get easily amused," Duff added. "Stickers are always fun to give to a dancer."
Another popular item that dancers have been purchasing are comfortable shoes.
Kerry Kassab, manager of Active Footwear, 236 Calder Way, said students purchasing shoes for Thon have been buying shoes that provide strong support for their feet.
"Support's real, real important," Kassab said, adding that Thon dancers should be advised to not wear cotton socks.
"(Thon dancers are) better off going with acrylics," he said. "Cotton can cause blisters."
Kassab also suggested that students buy their shoes early.
"Wear them around just to see how they feel," he said.
Kassab said popular shoe brands among dancers include Asics and New Balance sneakers.
New Balance also is a popular purchase among dancers at Shoe Fly, 214 E. College Ave., manager Craig Fleming said. Also popular are Adidas and Nike brands, he said.
However, Fleming urged dancers to choose comfort over a brand name.
"We don't really push a New Balance over an Adidas," Fleming said. "Pick the one with the most cushioning."
Tony Resto, sales associate at Rapid Transit Sportswear, 155 S. Allen St., shared this sentiment. "We don't go by name brand," he said. "What we do here is we check out the mechanics of their foot. We go through quite a few shoes trying them on and we determine how much support they need."
