All that remained Friday night of the sixth annual Milton Marathon was brown crumbs from an eaten cake and a trashcan overflowing with coffee cups and McDonald's paper bags.
About 200 people attended the Milton Marathon reading in the Rincon Room of the Student Union Memorial Center on Friday. Students and faculty read through all 12 books of John Milton's famous poem "Paradise Lost" from 8 a.m. to nearly 8 p.m.
During Friday's "prime time," 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., about 75 people were in the Rincon Room, said Sara Phillips, the marathon's organizer.
John Ulreich, professor of English and the marathon's initiator, said the marathon has been a great experience for its attendees.
"Reading it all ÷ getting together with other people and reading it out loud is fun," Ulreich said. "It reminds us why people write poetry and why some people read it."
Phillips said she read Satan's speech in Book Three.
"A lot of (attendees) were required to attend, but they didn't have to read," Phillips said. "But most people did read. And a lot of people read multiple times."
Adam Engelsgjerd, a student in Ulreich's ENGL 370A class and a library specialist, stayed longer than required at the marathon because he said he enjoyed himself so much.
"We didn't have to go to our section today, so in lieu of section, we came to this," Engelsgjerd said. "It's in fitting with the rest of the class, like medieval literature."
The marathon will introduce Ulreich's class to "Paradise Lost," which they will begin reading and discussing in the next few weeks. Mashell Howard, a junior majoring in English who was following along with
readers, said the marathon was beneficial because she would have to read "Paradise Lost" later. Howard had been at the marathon for four hours.
"If we stay for four hours and read out loud, we get a low quiz bumped up to a perfect score," Howard said. "And I don't have to write a paper later on · so it's worth it."
Bridge Wade, an academic adviser in the English department, said she had never been to the marathon before and found it interesting.
"I though the interpretations of the people standing up there was quite amusing, actually," Wade said. "I thought that was great."
As both the marathon organizer and class preceptor, Phillips said many students who came in the morning for class, returned in the afternoon just to hang out. Phillips called the marathon a community-building experience. Ulreich said eight other English faculty members included the English department attended the marathon.
"I teach Milton all the time," Ulreich said. "I do it because I enjoy his poetry and because I think it's important to be able to share that love of Milton with so many people and hope to get them enthusiastic."
This year, the marathon provided cake and coffee to its visitors as part of its goal to improve the marathon and attract visitors.
"Anytime there's free food, it's worth attending," Phillips said.