“Barefoot Running” Set to Be the Next Big Fitness Craze

As far as crazes go, it's not likely to make as big a splash as say, shoes that are supposed to tone your legs and butt automatically when you walk around, but barefoot running is clearly poised to make a big splash this coming spring and summer. The reason for that, according to self-professed expert, The Barefoot Professor, is because most modern running shoes cause the very pounding that their absorbency is designed to resist. The Barefoot Professor, who in his regular life is known as Dr. Daniel Lieberman, a Harvard scholar, has been traveling the globe espousing the benefits of running barefoot, here he describes why it's better than running with regular running shoes.

The bottom line is that when human beings run without shoes on, they tend to land each footfall on their toes and the pad of their foot, in a gentle loping manner, resulting in a smooth gait. When they strap on shoes however, because of the inflexibility and flatness of the bottom of the shoes, they are forced to land on their pad and arches and in some cases, the balls of their feet. This forced kind of landing causes a pounding sort of running, which the shoe industry "fixes" by building absorbency into the undersides of the shoes.

It's all nonsense Lieberman says, because forcing people to land in such a violent manner causes unnecessary stress and quite often injuries to the ankle, foot and toes. He's not suggesting of course that all runners abandon running with shoes altogether however, as the modern landscape doesn't provide enough soft ground for running unprotected. Instead, he's supporting running completely barefoot when possible, such as on beaches or other sandy or grassy areas, or to replace traditional running shoes with so-called barefoot running shoes, which are in essence, a bar minimum, flexible covering for just the bottom of the feet and simple straps to hold them in place; not unlike traditional Native American moccasins.

The whole point, Lieberman says, is that people need to step outside of their comfort zones and look around them. Running shoes are a product without a real need, thus, those that make them have to advertise them in ways that will make them seem appealing, sort of like cigarette manufacturers. People were running long before running shoe makers came up with all their gimmicks, and Lieberman should know, in his day job, he's a professor of human evolution, specializing in locomotion in early hominins.