Not even several inches of snowfall will stop a group of 15 Thon supporters delivering letters -- on foot -- from families in Hershey Medical Center to the Bryce Jordan Center during Thon.

Tonight, 15 runners from Pennsylvania, Maryland and New York will gather at Hershey Medical Center, where the first runner will begin the journey. They will run shifts of five miles, one at a time, until they reach the Bryce Jordan Center, where the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic dance marathon is held. As one person runs, the others will be able to rest in cars and RVs. Each runner will complete about 10 miles over the course of the run.

The run's official name is the Thon Express because the runners will carry letters from the families in the hospital and deliver them to the Thon dancers on Friday night.

"We dubbed the race 135 miles in 24 hours," Hank Angus, one of the organizers, said.

Hank and Connie Angus became inspired to start this event while they were at Thon last year. They wanted to bridge the gap between Four Diamond families and the Penn State students participating in Thon. So they decided to organize a run from Penn State's Children's Hospital to the Bryce Jordan Center.

"When we got to Thon, we looked at each other and said 'We need to make this happen,'" Hank Angus said.

Over the past year, with assistance from the Four Diamonds Fund, the Dance Marathon Alumni Interest Group (DMAIG), Four Diamonds families and many other supporters, the Angus family has been able to turn its dream into a reality.

The Anguses will both take turns running in Thon Express -- a journey that is part of a much harder path their family has endured.

In Sept. 2004, Hank and Connie Angus, who both attended Penn State more than 10 years ago, were at a Lady Lions field hockey game when they got news that any parent dreads.

Test results showed that their 3-year-old son, Gabe, was very sick with Leukemia, a cancer of the blood.

Over the next few years, they would be right by his side, carrying him when he was too sick to stand, teaching him how to walk and feed himself again and sitting with him when the chemo made him too weak to play in the hospital's toy room.

"You can try to explain what you are going through, but it is hard for people to understand," Angus said.

The Anguses, who live in New Cumberland, made many trips to the Penn State Children's Hospital at Hershey Medical Center and saw other children and families fighting cancer.

"No child should have to go through what these kids do," Angus said.

Gabe Angus is in better condition than he was three years ago and is now living at home, Hank Angus said. Gabe still goes to Hershey Medical Center for some treatments.

He said that he was not very familiar with Thon in the past, but was overwhelmed when he attended last year.

"The Thon dancers are doing this for us, our sons and daughters," he said.

When Angus began to look into creating the run last summer, he was directed to the DMAIG, and with the organization's help, the plan really began to come together.

Two RVs have been donated for the trip, State Police have given their consent for the runners to travel on certain roads, and several sponsors have been gathered.

"What has happened within a short amount of time has been nothing short of amazing," Angus said.

Jeff Krisciunas, DMAIG president, said he is excited Thon alumni could become part of the Thon Express team.

"It has been inspiring to see how motivated people are about [Thon Express]," he said.

Right now, the Thon Express is open for donations, but in years to come, Krisciunas said they may look into other ways to raise money with the run. All donations collected through Thon Express go directly to Thon.

Krisciunas, a 1994 Thon dancer, is also one of the Thon Express runners.

He said he was amazed by the amount of energy the group of runners had when they met at the Anguses home earlier this month.

"We discussed the possibility of snow, but we are going to do this run no matter what," he said.

Thon Public Relations Overall Chairwoman Megan Kendrick said Thon Express is a great way for Thon alumni and families to get involved in the marathon.

"It will be awesome to see [the runners] come into the BJC on Friday," she said. "The letters they carry will really motivate the dancers and remind them why they are dancing in the first place."

Angus said he is looking forward to the event and hopes it becomes annual.

"My real wish is that there would not be anymore pediatric cancer," Angus said. "We'll do this run until we can't anymore, if that's what it takes."

For more information on Thon Express and how to donate money to Thon, visit http://www.thon.org/thonexpress/donate/