First inspired to become a part of Dance Marathon through her sorority, Allie Burgunder, now a senior, is going to be participating in this year’s event as a four-year Dancer. While most of her friends chose to take on Captain positions in the years that followed, Allie decided to commit to a different path. Year after year, Allie dances through the 26.2 hours, determined to push beyond what she thought would be possible and redefine her limits.
Allie says hearing the Miracle Families tell each of their stories and getting to play with the Miracle Children is what keeps her going throughout the event.
“I see the same families come back each year because their child is still sick, and that’s what keeps me going,” Burgunder said. “As long as they are still fighting, I can still keep standing and dancing.”
One story she remembers vividly was of a Miracle Child who was now a Gator and getting the chance to participate as a dancer in her first Dance Marathon event.
“It was inspiring to see someone who had gone through all that she did as Miracle Child and now was back as a Dancer standing with all of us to raise money and awareness for people just like her.”
“It’s one day, it’s one weekend,” Burgunder said. “26.2 hours sounds crazy, but when you’re there and surrounded by so many people and everyone has so much life and love it makes you forget about any pain or that you’ve been standing on your feet for hours. There’s so much support and everyone is going towards one common goal. The time just flies by and all of a sudden it’s over. You look back and are like ‘wow, it’s crazy I did that.’ But in reality when you think about it, that’s nothing compared to what all the Miracle Families are going through.”