The idea that barefoot running is better (being more natural and efficient) is slowly trickling from the fringes into the mainstream. The latest research, published in the journal Nature, was reported on BBC News. It’s something I’ve been writing about – and practising – for a couple of years now. That’s not to say, though, that I always run barefoot. In fact, more often than not I run in shoes (lightweight, minimal, flexible trainers) because I live in a city where it’s not often practical to run unshod. But I do like to feel the air between my toes as often as possible (most recently, yesterday, at Camber Sands in East Sussex). This latest research suggests that modern trainers may have changed the way we run – causing us to favour a heel strike while barefoot, we’d almost certainly hit the ground with the forefoot first. It’s a suggestion that Chris McDougall raised in his book, Born to Run, and it’s a fascinating idea: first the trainer companies tell us to run differently to how we would normally and then they provide us with the shoes to enable us to do it! With the current interest in barefoot, many shoe manufacturers are leaning towards producing more minimal, flexible footwear, which I think has to be a good thing. I’m also keenly awaiting the arrival of the Vivo Barefoot running shoe, the Evo, due out next month. You can read my latest barefoot adventure in this weekend’s Observer Sport Monthly…