Stiletto Run 2010...I don't get it

Help me understand the concept of the Stiletto Run. I was in the doctor's office yesterday and I found a random page from some magazine sitting on a pile of other magazines. Women in the UK were running in heels for a prize of shopping money.

I looked the concept up on Google and found that Buffalo New York is holding a Stiletto Run in June of this year.





Women may walk but many run. It is a charity run and the women are running for Ovarian Cancer. However the prizes are more monetary.

In Amsterdam a Stiletto Run is also held but not for charity. The winner will receive $15,000. Their motto is "shopping is a sport."


2007 Stiletto Run in Amsterdam

I don't understand why anyone would subject themselves to this. From the one loose page I read in the doctor's office I learned that some women run on their toes so as not to place pressure on their heels. I imagine it must be quite painful to run in heels. Not only is there a danger of a fall but a break of a heel.

I suppose the draw is that it is interesting to watch women attempt to run in difficult footware. I don't think I could participate in such an event despite a big prize or a contribution to charity. I'd feel put on display. I can't help but wonder if part of the allure of a race like this is that there is a bit of a humiliation factor. Isn't it a bit exploitive?