Barefoot Traction

Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald online edition (smh.com.au), is running an interesting piece on the barefoot running movement.

The article, which was also published in the weekends broadsheet section of the paper, Good Weekend, gives a detailed look at some of the history and debates about traditional sports shoes.

The piece takes in interviews with Harvard Professor of Human Evolutionary Biology, Daniel E. Lieberman and Dr Craig Richards from the University of Newcastle, both of whom have cast doubt on the huge marketing claims of dominant sports shoe manufacturers.

The writer teams up with a local barefoot running coach where he is given a pair of Vibram Five Fingers and takes them out for run.

It’s interesting to see such a long piece being published by the paper in both their weekend broadsheet and also on the front page of their website. This is just another example of how this once fringe movement is gaining traction in the wider media landscape.

If you have a moment a few minutes to give it a read.