Bare-foot running may be the newest fad in fitness but it’s still in it’s early stages.

You may have heard of the Vibram Five Finger, a shoe with tiny little toe pockets to separate your toes from eachother. It looks ridiculous but they’re getting good feedback from those willing to fork out $200 to buy a pair. Apparently the sole of the shoe is so soft it’s like walking bare-foot.

While I don’t hear any podiatrists recommending these shoes yet, I’m keeping an open mind and waiting for the day that “research” will prove that they’re better for everyone, and not just the few people who bought them.

So back to the topic at hand, what’s the story behind bare-foot running and why is it becoming popular?

Well it turns out that there’s kind of like a cult of bare-foot runners and they’re actually breaking olympic records! In fact an olympic marathon runner from Ethiopia won the race completely barefoot. Which prompted the question, “Are they really that poor that they can’t afford shoes in Ethiopia?”

Anyone who asked that is blinded by the billion dollar running shoe corporations that keep telling us that their shoe is absolutely needed for running! So what the open minded people have discovered is that human feet are designed to be used without protection. Not that hard to figure out is it? Well further investigation revealed that if you try running barefoot, you actually feel better, feel more natural, feel like you’re saving the environment, and tend to not injure yourself as much.

Apparently, running bare-foot causes you to run differently to when you’re wearing shoes. The theory is that evil running shoe corporations have been trying to build the most cushioning heel so we can land heel first as we run. What the bare-foot runners are saying is that landing heel first is unnatural and causes injuries. When you run bare-foot, you tend to land on the mid section of your foot otherwise it jars and bruises the heel, in turn making you run “properly” like humans are supposed to run.

Now this sounds great and all, but I for one find wearing shoes more comfortable than not. And I’m one of those people who barely ever wear shoes! I goto the supermarket bare foot simply because putting on socks and shoes takes too much time and effort. Since I bought some crocs I’ve been wearing them a fair bit because they’re so easy to slip on, but if my Brooks Beasts were as quick to slip on I’d be wearing them instead because they’re so comfortable.

However, having said that, I do have a few little ankle problems and a bad knee, though I blame the knee for my soccer years. So to be fair, I’m going to give this bare-foot running a go and see what happens. I’ll start on the grass oval though!

Here’s a few good links on the subject, but they’re both FOR bare-foot running. I’d like to see an article against bare-foot running.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1170253/The-painful-truth-trainers-Are-expensive-running-shoes-waste-money.html

http://www.popularmechanics.com/outdoors/sports/4314401.html

For now bare-foot running may only be endorsed by a few people, but it’s slowly spreading and it’ll be interesting to see what path it ends up taking in the near future. Apparently a few popular shoe brands are working on new shoes that have such a thin sole that it feels like you’re running barefoot…