Ovarian cancer is the 9th most common cancer in women. And every year about 15,000 women die of this disease. So for this women's cause, many slid their feet into stilettos for a sprint.

They're calling it a .5k run. That's a merciful shortening of the regular kind of run for a cause because this one is being done in stilettos. And you can hear them clacking on the pavement as the runners make their way down Elmwood Avenue.

"There's no way in hell that I'm going to win it. I'm probably going to break an ankle and my neck," said runner William Hardie of Buffalo.

But the pain of running in Manolos or Jimmy Choos is all for a good cause. And it's a women's cause which is why high heels are so fitting. "I own a shoe store, and it's a fun shoe store, we wanted to have something that reflected the product. A regular run wouldn't me any justice so we decided on a stiletto run," said Sue Marfino, co-organizer of the race and owner of the Shoefly, a store on Elmwood Avenue.

"Many women are obviously affected by this and so many people and families are affected by it, and because women are our main customers, we thought we would give back and be involved in that way," said Adam Wilson, co-organizer of the race and owner of the business Celebrate Buffalo.

The money raised here goes to support the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance. Researchers have made some strides in the fight against this aggressive form of cancer. A report just published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows early success with a new kind of treatment.

"I'm very excited about these new drugs because they're offering us a brand new treatment for patients whose cancers have not been very sensitive at all to current therapies," said Dr. Joyce O'Shaughnessy, of Texas Oncology.

If the new drugs continue to prove effective in large studies, they could become widely available in a few years. But in the meantime, these runners are also hoping the Obama administration will make changes in health care policy so medical care is available to everyone. "Being without health care would be a seriously costly thing for me and I can see that with ovarian cancer, if you were diagnosed with it, and all the different treatments and medications, it would be a very costly thing," said Wilson.

Several shops and restaurants on Elmwood Avenue stayed open late and will donate 10% of their sales to ovarian cancer research. Over 150 people participated in the Stiletto Run which was organized by Shoefly and Celebrate Buffalo.