SilverTurtle,
Yes, there are TONS of people that come out! It's amazing how many people know about this event. And the runners will just walk around naked like "la la la la"....like they have clothes on! Like I said, the local news stations come and broadcast from the Mile now. It's gotten so outta hand. My sophomore year, the runners and other watchers were so rowdy w/ the news crews coming out, that they broke one news crew's camera! It's terrible. Then we have all these fiends out there videotaping and taking pics and putting it on the internet.
I decided very quickly that I was NOT running. I just don't have the guts to do that. Most people I hear get totally drunk before doing it though. And since I don't drink that much that method is out for me.
It's quite an event though...