“Drag” racers in the annual High Heels Race in Dupont Circle will start running at 9 p.m. Saturday. Perruzza, who is organizing the race, gives the low-down on some new twists to the 23-year-old tradition that attracts about 20,000 onlookers.
How did you get started running the high-heeled race?
I started working at JR’s [Bar and Grill], who is the unofficial organizer of the event. I became a manager, and it became my event to take care of.
How did it get started?
It was started by a couple of guys running from JR’s to Annie’s in drag. They did a shot at JR’s. They ran to Annie’s, Paramount Steakhouse, did a shot at Annie’s, then ran back to JR’s. And the next year the group got bigger. … Every year it’s been getting bigger and bigger until the point where they had a crowd watching.
What’s the course this year?
It’s a little past 17th and R. … Then it goes to a little past 17th and Church. So we’ve reversed the route. … This time it’s starting on the other end to help alleviate some of the crowd problems.
How high are the highest heels that have ever worn?
Probably the ones I wore: about six inches. I wore some spike ones. The first year I was ever here, I ran in the race. And after that I’ve never done that again. I almost broke my ankle.
So the heels are a requirement. Is the drag costume also a requirement?
Yeah. But we’re not calling it the High Heel Race this year. We’re calling it Heels for Equality because we figure we get a big enough audience so we’re really going to stress the fact that everybody should have equality. … We want people to know this is a gay event and we don’t have the same rights as everybody else. – Kytja Weir
