More on barefoot running

From kind of a fringe thing that I’ve been following for only a few weeks, and only aware of for a few months, I’m starting to see the concept of barefoot running in more and more places.

I wrote about Vibram Five Fingers earlier this month, but now I see that the New York Times has joined the chorus:

Proponents of this approach contend that naked feet are perfectly capable of running long distances, and that encasing them in the fortress of modern footwear weakens foot muscles and ligaments and blocks vital sensory input about terrain.

“The shoe arguably got in the way of evolution,” said Galahad Clark, a seventh-generation shoemaker and chief executive of the shoemaker Terra Plana, based in London. “They’re like little foot coffins that stopped the foot from working the way it’s supposed to work.”

I am seriously thinking about picking up a pair of Vibrams — I just wish that I could try on a pair before I order online — and I’ve been trying to do more walking around barefoot. But for now, I’m hesitant. Maybe that’s because winter’s coming.

In the meantime, for crying out loud, watch this video that I posted earlier. It’s freaking hilarious.