The Mizzou Dance Marathon is $7,215 closer to its five-year, $375,000 pledge to the MU Children’s Hospital after the FT5K run Saturday.

“I was blown away by the event,” Dance Marathon executive director Annie Bastida said. “This was our first year to host a 5K, and the amount of support we saw was incredible.”

Every spring, the student-led philanthropy hosts a 13.1-hour dance party to raise funds for patients at the MU Children’s Hospital, according to a Dance Marathon news release. The 5K acted as the organization’s fall fundraiser.

“There are a lot of community members who maybe won’t come dance for 13 hours, but they could come to the run and get a taste of what DM is like,” Bastida said. “The atmosphere was really fun, and that correlates to the atmosphere we try to have throughout the entire year.”

More than 300 runners registered for the run, according to the news release. Children and families from the Children’s Hospital, called “Miracle Families,” were also present at the event.

“A big initiative we have this year is to connect students with the families we’re sponsoring,” Bastida said. “It was a blast to see students meet the people they are actually helping.”