28 hours, back at the school & fully open to public for first time since 2020

By Cathy DeDe, Chronicle Managing Editor

The 47th annual South High Marathon Dance returns March 1 & 2 to the High School for the first time since the Covid pandemic. After three years having to adjust, it will all be in one location, at the school and fully open to the public.

Senior Logan Mahoney, a student co-chair, says, “You may have seen the dance through our SHMD broadcast, but there truly is nothing like standing in our gym and experiencing the South High Marathon Dance firsthand.”

“I think this year’s marathon is going to be the best one yet!!” junior Addisyn Buckley, told The Chronicle by email. Addisyn, the only junior on the otherwise all-senior committee, added, “I am SO excited for the dance to be back at the school! I believe that it is very important to get the community to see and experience the dance, so moving everything to the high school again is going to be amazing!!”

Co-chair Cody Touse says, “I think the most important thing about Marathon is how it brings the community together. Schools from all around help support our dance, whether it’s by raising money like Glens Falls does through the Battle of the Bridge game, or if it’s the Lake George Drumline” during opening ceremonies.

The students selected 34 individuals, families and organizations as recipients of this year’s Marathon fund-raising. Last year’s dance raised $630,111.07 for 22 individuals and organizations, bringing the 46-year total to more than $10.5 million raised for 641 beneficiaries in South Glens Falls and the surrounding communities.
 
Co-chair Sophia Belden notes this year “the number of recipients with relatives in the high school building. It reminded me how grateful I am to be a part of a community that is able to give back to those in need.”

Her twin sister Olivia Belden says, “Yes, we dance for 28 hours and we are extremely tired by the end. It’s when the recipients come out and walk through the middle of the gym with students on each side cheering for them, then coming back out again at the end of the dance to share their stories: It makes the past 28 hours worth it.”

Connor Basile said, “I have participated in SHMD in all four of my high school years. As each year progressed, my love for SHMD grew. My take-away is a message to all other students who are participating in the Marathon Dance. Make sure to get as involved as possible. Do whatever you can to make the dance as great as it can be. Whether that be raising more money or volunteering more — do it.

“It is an experience that I will hold with me the rest of my life. Through my involvement, I have learned lessons in perseverance, compassion, and understanding that I would not have been able to attain elsewhere.”

The 2020 Marathon was one of the last public events before the Covid shut-downs. In 2021 and 2022, The Great Escape hosted the Marathon Dance as a one-day outdoor event with limited community attendance.

Last year’s Marathon Dance was back at the school but each dancer received two passes for parents or other family members to attend. The fund-raising events of were removed to Tanglewood Elementary School, away from the dance itself.

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