I have a feeling this upcoming spring will forever be remembered as the "Barefoot Spring", because barefoot running will explode in popularity. Nike will cease to exist by the summer, and Reebok and Adidas will also go bankrupt. People will throw out their shoes and go barefoot everywhere, which in turn will lead to no more pollution: people will no longer throw trash on the ground because they won't want to walk on littered pavement. Because of all the joy feeling the ground will bring to people, world peace will be declared by early fall, and the world will unite in harmony forever.

Or maybe a few thousand more people will adopt barefoot running. Either way, it'll be pretty sweet.

Another article came out in the Boston Globe today, titled "Barefoot Runners Avoid Impact". Shown to me by RaRaRonna in Beantown, it has some great pictures of Harvard Professor Dan Lieberman, who, along with Christopher McDougall, is a outspoken proponent of barefoot/minimalist running. Lieberman is a professor of human evolutionary biology, and has done studies comparing the impact on joints between shod and unshod running. The heel of modern running shoes affects the gait and stride, allowing us to land with more impact in ways the body was never intended. The best quote from the article comes from a Boston resident who says:

"It's fun, it's tactile, it's stimulating," Ferris said. "I run faster, it protects the knees and the joints, it's different. It kind of matches the notion that our body evolved to work as a runner ... that's really how the body is made to work."

I think it's funny that Vibram Five Fingers are helping to fund the research, because there's no way Nike and the other major shoe manufacturers would ever support a study that could lead to their demise. I wonder what they're going to do to combat all of this "free your feet" talk that's been gaining in popularity. Will they do research studies of their own? Will they admit defeat and come out with their own minimalist shoes (sorry, the Nike Free's don't come close)? Will they buy out Vibram and shut them down? Only time will tell, but I'm eagerly waiting for responses from them.

Be sure to check out the small side story on the left titled "Famous Shoeless Athletes." It's a fluff piece, but it's interesting to see some NFL kickers who kicked barefoot. Also, check out the four graphics of animated running. It's slowed down enough for all to see clearly.

Finally, thanks also to my friend Vader for forwarding the same article to me this morning. It's nice to know I have friends looking out for and noticing the barefooting trend.