Good Looks Aren’t Everything

Today I bought the strangest pair of shoes I’ve ever seen, but a pair I’ve had my eyes on for quite awhile.

These are running shoes, called Vibram Five Fingers. These shoes are part of a new wave of runners who love to run barefoot. Of course, running “barefoot” doesn’t exactly work for a tenderfoot like me, so Vibram came up with these nifty shoes that mimic being barefoot, but protect the bottom of your feet.

There’s a lot of science behind barefoot running, but the basic idea is this: the strongest structure in architecture is an arch. Your foot was wonderfully designed by God with an arch! Why would you support an arch? All of the bones and muscles and tendons in your foot, and legs and back and hips were made to work with that amazing, strong arch. Thus: barefoot.

Christopher MacDougall explains all this in his fascinating and sometimes very humorous book, Born to Run.

I admit, these are not my cutest shoes. I’m sure I’ll get looks when I wear them, but only because they are so weird. However, even I believe good looks aren’t everything. Sometimes comfort takes precedence. And when I run, comfort is everything! I’m a girl who lives for being barefoot. If I could live at the beach in flip flops and my bare feet for the rest of my life, I’d be supremely happy!

But, in the meantime as I run and amble over the trails behind my house, I’ll wear these bizarre five-toed lavender shoes on my feet. Don’t be too surprised next time you see me running down the street. No, I haven’t grown new feet, just a new pair of shoes.