Ron Dayne covered plenty of ground — 7,125 yards to be precise — over the course of his career as a running back with the University of Wisconsin football team from 1996 to '99.

But the 1999 Heisman Trophy winner will find himself involved with a different kind of running endeavor Saturday when he will be grand marshal for the 27th annual Crazylegs Classic.

"I'm honored. I never thought I would be in a position to do something like this," said Dayne, who joins Pat Richter, Barry Alvarez and Suzy Favor Hamilton on the list of UW-Madison legends who have been grand marshal in recent years for the combination 8K run and 2-mile walk that supports Badger athletics.

"We've been fortunate to have some pretty high-profile people as our grand marshals over the years, and almost all of those people have been from the Madison community," National W Club executive director Terry Murawski said. "This is our first attempt to reach out and bring back a former Badger great and somebody that everybody knows.''

Dayne, whose No. 33 was retired during halftime of the Badgers' game against Michigan last Nov. 10, runs for the Houston Texans. He will oversee an event that is sure to feature a record level of participation.

While a record 14,996 people took part in last year's Crazylegs, more than 15,000 have registered this year. Murawski said he expects the final total to approach 18,000.

"We are on pace to crush all of our records in terms of participation for both runners and walkers," Murawski said. "When we set out this year, our goal was to beat last year's (participation) by 10 percent. We think we will beat that by leaps and bounds."

Traditionally, one-third of the Crazylegs field has taken part in the walk. Murawski said that remains the case this year, and pointed out some changes that have been made to that part of the event.

The walk's start has been moved to the intersection of State Street and Carroll Street, and it will now go off at the same time as the run. And like the run, the walk — which will be led by Cindy Alvarez and Favor Hamilton — now will utilize a wave start.

The first wave is designated for speed walkers, the second wave is for casual walkers, and the third wave will consist of walkers with accessories such as strollers, baby joggers and wagons.

"We are trying to continue to focus on walkers and make sure they have as good of an experience as the runners," Murawski said.

Additionally, more than 200 Fun and Fitness teams from the area will take part, as will 165 area elementary school students as part of the inaugural Crazylegs Kids Team program.

Murawski said participants from 35 states are scheduled to be represented.

"We're amazed with the continued support of Badger athletics and people having a great experience with the Crazylegs," Murawski said. "It's overwhelming. It really is overwhelming."