Penn State THON 2013 Dance Marathon Raises Funds To Fight Pediatric Cancer (PHOTOS, TWEETS)

Update 2/17/13, 5:40 p.m. EST: Penn State's THON dance marathon event raised a record $12.37 million to help families fighting pediatric cancer, besting last year's fundraising record of $10.36 million, according to PennLive.

Penn State students hit the dance floor on Friday night for 46 hours of breakin' it down to raise funds to fight pediatric cancer.

The oldest and longest dance marathon in the county, the university’s THON event has collected more than $89 million for the Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital since 1977, according to the organization’s website. The charity helps families battling pediatric cancers pay for the the care and treatment that insurance doesn’t cover.

The chatter on Twitter points to the fact that students are making a weekend of it and the turnout has been pretty impressive:

Last year, more than 700 dancers showed off their moves at the charity event and raised $10.7. million, according to the Centre Daily Times. It was the first year that THON was held without legendary coach Joe Paterno in attendance and his son, Jay, shared some words of inspiration at the event.

“When the storm clouds gathered around this campus in November, a lot of people ran for the hills. Not the students, who were leaders of Thon. You stood your ground,” Jay Paterno said at the event, according to the Centre Daily Times. “Thon represents the very best of Penn State students, he added, “their compassion and their character.”

Check out what everyone from the Kardashians to Penn State students are saying about #Thon on Twitter. Then add your own tweets and photos below!