I don't remember who won, but it certainly was one of these guys out of college who didn't care to show up on Monday at 9am and stay non stop in the office until Tuesday 5pm.
And honestly, younger me probably would have thought it was fun, but 30yo me with a wife and kid was more "f this shit, you're not getting 12h of my family time without compensation."
If the company actually said that it was going to be a 24-hour hackathon, that would trigger statutory overtime provisions in many jurisdictions. For instance, in Britain, that would mean you must work shorter days during the rest of the week, unless you and your employee decided otherwise (they can't fire you for changing your mind later, though).
And honestly, younger me probably would have thought it was fun, but 30yo me with a wife and kid was more "f this shit, you're not getting 12h of my family time without compensation."