I love it when someone takes the Machine Gun of Science to conventional wisdom and obliterates it beyond a doubt. Especially when this conventional wisdom is nothing more than pseudo science promoted by an industry whose sole purpose is to make more money than last year. Your feet are just one more casualty from that greedy plague.

“How is Corporate America fucking my life up now?” you might ask. Well, they’ve shackled all our feet in to shoes. It’s as simple as that. Shoes cause your arches to fall and an assortment of other issues like back and knee problems. Evolution crafted our bodies in to long distance running machines. We come equipped with shock absorption and mechanisms that recharge our muscles and conserve energy as we run. The grand irony on the front stage is that most of the running injuries we try to prevent, with more sophisticated running shoes, are caused by running shoes.

I realize this post has started out like so many unsubstantiated conspiracy theory rants. Before I go any farther, let me #BlameDrewsCancer for that. It’s insidious and makes us all crazy.

Now, the only way you will believe this is real and that I’m not ridiculous is if you read Born to Run by Christopher McDougall (or listen to it via audiobook like I did). It’s a new book, so you might have not heard of it yet. It’s the ultimate “You’re doing it wrong” message to runners and anyone interested in living healthily. It’s a multistage mega-firecracker with science at its core wrapped in many layers of epic running stories!

Alright, enough with the book review one-liners. The great thing about this book is that the evidence for all of this isn’t coming from a single source. More than one scientist and researcher (in different fields even) corroborate the conclusions. The author even talks to a Nike research scientist that arrived at the same conclusion. Ditch your running shoes.

It’s not a book written by a crazy hippie who wants everyone to get along and run al natural through the streets. The author’s only agenda is to find a way to keep running. All the people that show up in the book are people who love to run. After years of running, they are tired of the constant cycle of injuries.

Instead of trying to inaccurately repeat all the facts and statistics that are so well represented in this book, I will leave you with one delectable tidbit from the book. Arches. Specifically the ones on your feet.

What do we know about arches? If you don’t know much then read up on them real quick. To review, arches are damn strong. They are the reason the Roman Aqueducts and other famous structures have stuck around for 1k+ years. And guess what? We come equipped with living arches that can adapt to the ground! Ok so to take this to its natural conclusion. What’s the best way to weaken an arch? Support it from underneath. Stick a pylon in the middle of it. “Arch Support” is now a four letter word in my book.

I’d link you all blue in the face but if you search “running barefoot” you’ll be at the same place as me. Learning to walk again. Thankfully the revolution has already started and the barefoot Jedi Masters are out there. Waiting.

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