Fast Money, High Heels
Last night at rugby practice, my teammate Ida Bernstein mentioned she planned to run a 150-yard dash this morning. In three-inch heels. On Live With Regis and Kelly.
Over 500 women and a number of men competed in the event, setting a new world record for participation in a high-heeled event. (Who knew there were others?) One of the reasons so many people tap-tap-tapped over to Central Park bright and early for Live’s High Heel-a-thon? The lucrative prizes. Another was, I’m sure, the fact that the race benefited the March of Dimes. But Ida was in it for the cold, hard cash: First place took home $25,000; second place received $5,000; and third got $2,500. (The men’s grand prize was $1,000.)
That kind of dough could fund a lot of rugby travel. And Ida is fast, so I decided to DVR the show to see how she fared. I’m glad I did — SHE GOT SECOND PLACE. (First place went to an ex-track athlete from Penn State, and third was an ex-track athlete from Iowa State.) And in their post-race interview, Kelly Ripa accused Ida of throwing an elbow to get by. Entirely possible. And highly entertaining.
BUT … WEARING HIGH HEELS? Let alone running in them? Not a great idea. Among the risks involved with wearing high heels are osteoarthritis of the knees, back problems, hammertoes and sprained ankles. (Interestingly, a wide heel base can be even worse for your knees.)
All that is old news, yet some gyms offer group fitness classes during which participants wear stilettos, and part of Ripa’s training regimen for the race included leg presses and squats on a balance board. Exercises that are bad enough on their own, but she did them in heels. Watch the video here. Gah!
All that said, would I run 150 yards through Central Park in high heels for $5,000? In a New York minute. Would you?
UPDATE: Below is a video of the event, as well as the interviews afterward. Best part by far is the sound of that many heels hitting the pavement.
YouTube link tohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44mgB2bd-1k&e
[image courtesy of Pσrcelαΐηgΐrl°]
July 9th, 2008 at 10:58 am
I like heels, I like to dance in them. Doing leg presses with heels though sounds a bit… unsafe… and crazy…
July 9th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
wow, that is just crazy! I can barely walk in high heels, much less run.
and kelly ripa is in amazing shape!
July 9th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
I don’t know why but this amuses me soooo much. I guess as a former competitve ballroom dancer, heels don’t frighten me much:) At least it was a short race!
July 9th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
I like heels too, but only wear them occasionally anymore. I wore them nearly every day for eight years, and somehow I suspect it’s not a coincidence that it was during the time I was having a ton of knee problems. But sometimes they’re just too pretty to resist! Especially really pointy-toes ones … or nude-colored ones … hello, lover!
July 10th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
I would likely re-sprain my ankle, however I also remember the days of wearing heels to work every single day.
The pitter patter of the running heels should be a ring tone, ha!
July 14th, 2008 at 10:53 am
looks down at her feet clad in MBTs and her close filled with nikes.
I guess Im out.
July 14th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Ouch…I can’t imagine this, but heck yeah to all the women that did it! A fun event indeed!
July 21st, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Ok seriously, I have probably worn heels like ten times in my entire life. I can’t stand them and I can’t look at people when they walk in them because I can see their ankles shifting and it totally grosses me out. That being said, I would race in them for money