Harvard Professor Dan Lieberman just joined Barefoot Runners NYC for a morning run in Central Park. We did a little over 3 miles before I had to split. He's recently back from Kenya, the land of barefoot runners, where he is preparing for an ambitious study on running injuries. Very cool.
Amazing, though, how few companies and institutions are interested in funding his work. I can't think of a more practical area of study, with direct implications for tens of millions of running Americans. Professor Lieberman also observed how psychologically wedded we are to our fancy modern running shoes -- even though they're only a few decades old.
You can check out a few interviews with Professor Lieberman.