Sometimes I really wonder if anything makes sense any more. But how is it that “Natural Running” can’t decide if that means barefoot, or in shoes?
It started when I saw this video:
Cute. Really cute. Great natural barefoot running form.
And then I go to the websites associated with the videos on the YouTube site itself. It’s part of an effort to sell shoes via what they call The Natural Running Center, and their main video is this:
Huh? They’re advocating natural running, and selling shoes? It seems to be the work of a Dr. Mark Cucuzzella, and a big video shoot at their main store, Two Rivers Treads, in Shepherdstown, WV. But if you look at what they sell, here, it all these shoes. And not just things like Vibrams, but really shoey shoes. Shoes with arches (ouch!). Shoes with padding. Shoes with pointy instead of boxy toe boxes.
It hurts my eyes just looking at them.
I just don’t get it. (Well, yes, maybe I do get it — if people actually ran barefoot there wouldn’t be a product to sell, would there?)
And the oddest thing of all? Here’s a video of Dr. Cucuzzella running:
He’s running barefoot for the whole video! So why the effort to sell all those shoes?
Ahcuah 
Yes, it is a shame to use bare feet to promote shoes.
[…] written before about Dr. Cucuzzella, and titled it Schizophrenia He really does advocate barefoot running, but I also really wonder why he ran this marathon with […]