Barefoot Running: Paleo-Fact Or Paleo-Fad?

Is barefoot running a healthy practice or only a fad based on simplistic views of the human past? Commentator Barbara J. King reads research by evolutionary biologist Daniel Lieberman, and comes away impressed by his brand of pro-barefoot evidence.

by Barbara J King

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This week I'm reading Lone Survivors, a new book in which British anthropologist Christopher Stringer reports that some Homo sapiens wore shoes as early as 40,000 years ago. This paleo-fact caught my eye because my husband, who is keenly interested in matters of fitness, has been talking to me lately about barefoot running. The idea — as it's been popularized — is that the natural, best way for us to run today is the same way humans have been running for hundreds of thousands of years: with our bare feet striking the earth. I tend toward skepticism when health advice is based on what our ancestors did, without regard to variation in past behavior. So I'm wondering, if shoes are as old in some early-human populations as Stringer claims, is the ...