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Americans Long Way From Running Barefoot

So, nike air max 90 trainers womens black/pink the science of barefoot running may now be clearer, but what about the business? Companies spend fortunes every year advertising the latest running shoes, and we buy them by the millions.

Kristian Foden Vencil, of Oregon Public Broadcasting, has some reaction to the barefoot running news from what we might call Americas athletic shoe capital.

KRISTIAN FODEN VENCIL: The Portland Metropolitan area is where Nike is based. headquarters here, as do other athletic brands like Columbia Sportswear and LaCrosse. So womens nike air max 2015 running shoes news that running barefoot may put less stress on your feet might be expected to put the cat among the local pigeons.

FODEN VENCIL: But at the place where local runners go to buy their shoes, the owner of the predictably named Portland Running Company, Dave Harkin, exhibits a runner's calm.

Mr. DAVE HARKIN (Owner, Portland Running Company): Americans especially, were not set up to run barefoot.

FODEN VENCIL: The bottom line, he says, is that if youre a dedicated runner, youre going to get injured because the whole idea is to push the limit. And ever since Nike first created a spongy sole using a waffle iron, shoe companies have been using technology to try and reduce those injuries. Harkin concedes running barefoot is good for you. But, he says, with all the glass, stones and assorted litter on American streets, its not going to reduce injuries.

Mr. HAWKING: I think if we made everybody run barefoot, there would be a slaughter of experience. People come back and be not only really, really sore, but other things take place when you run barefoot that arent that great.

FODEN VENCIL: Local running blogger Heather Daniel agrees.

Ms. We were running on the plains that were in nicely padded forests or something you can imagine something like that. Now, we have concrete and asphalt, and thats just really not nice to your feet.

FODEN VENCIL: And what are you hearing from businesses Nike, Adidas, Reebok? Have you heard of how theyre reacting?

Mr. DANIEL: You know, when you look at Nike, a lot of their new shoes, nike air max 90 at least their shoes that the runners are interested in, are very minimal. I think the idea is that they want to move toward that when you look at the Nike Free, which is another style of shoe thats supposed to simulate barefoot running.

FODEN VENCIL: Its true. Picking up a Nike Free is odd. You expect the weight of a standard, 14 ounce shoe. But at about 5 ounces, it feels very insubstantial.

So, is Nike worried about the new study? They dont seem to be quaking in their boots. In a written statement, they say runners have unique needs that require various levels of structure, support and cushioning, and that they offer different shoes to serve different types of runners.

Predictably, other companies are trying to take advantage of the barefoot running movement. Lebron sells what can only be described as a toe sock made of thin rubber. Each little piggy gets its own pad, and the idea is that it's like running barefoot, but youre protected if you tread on dog poo.

FODEN VENCIL: The outdoor store REI sells them. And Thomas Bussell(ph) is both a salesman and an evangelist.

Mr. THOMAS BUSSELL (Salesman, REI): People seem to be loving them. I think nike air max 90 trainers womens black/pink this barefoot movement has definitely gained some steam.

FODEN VENCIL: So, companies here dont think this new revelation is going to put them out of business. They think dedicated runners may incorporate some barefoot running into their weekly regiment. But the rest of us can be relied on to buy fancy athletic shoes in preparation for that run even if we never quite make it off the couch.

For NPR News, Im Kristian Foden Vencil in Portland.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future.

Humans are excellent two legged walkers. It's one of the things that make us such successful creatures.

And there are some scientists who say we're naturally born runners as well, that our bodies evolved to run. Now, anthropologist Dan Lieberman, one of the proponents of the "human runner" school, concludes that we do it better without shoes.

He says human ancestors needed to run well both away from big animals and after small, tasty ones, for example. He based that view on fossil bones. But lately he's been studying runners living ones.

Video: A Look At Running With And Without Shoes

Shoes Or No Shoes, That Is The Question

It started at a lecture he gave before the Boston Marathon. A barefoot runner someone who runs long distances without shoes peppered the professor with questions he couldn't answer. So Lieberman took him to his lab at Harvard University. He had him run over a flat metal plate that measures the collisional force of a footfall. Lieberman says runners generate a lot of collisional force.

"Most runners, when they land and they heel strike they land on their heel they generate this sudden impulse, this sharp spike of force. So it's like someone hitting you on the heel with a hammer, about 1 1/2 to 3 times your body weight," he says.

But Lieberman was surprised by the extremely low force readings made by the barefoot runner.

"He ran across the force plate, and he didn't have [a high spike], and I thought, gee, that's really amazing, and it kind of makes sense because that spike of force hurts, and I wonder if other barefoot runners do that."