You might have noticed a buzz on social media about barefoot running, with many proponents breathlessly describing it as the most natural way to run.
But not everyone is a fan. The claims made about going barefoot can range from, "It's the best thing I've ever done" to "I tried it and now I'm in terrible pain."
So what does the research say about how to drop your usual runners and take up barefoot running, and why it seems to work for some people and not for others?
The runners ran in traditional running shoes for the first four weeks. For the next four weeks, they increased their time in minimal running shoes by no more than 20% of their total running volume each week.
After running full-time in minimal shoes for another four weeks, they then spent the next four weeks gradually increasing their time running barefoot by no more than 20% per week.
Finally, they ran barefoot for a further four weeks.
We also asked the runners to do some calf and foot strengthening and stretching, to assist the muscles in the move from traditional shoe to barefoot running.
Using this strategy, 70% of runners were able to successfully transition to barefoot running over 20 weeks.
Pain in the calf when running in minimal shoes and pain in the foot when running barefoot were the main reasons for not being able to switch to barefoot running.
Contacting the ground first with the heel while running was one, and the other was very mobile feet (which means the arch is more flexible when the foot is bearing weight).
Why? It's too early to say for sure, but we do know barefoot running tends to increase stress in the tissues of the foot and calf.
Our findings seem to indicate this tissue stress was not well tolerated in those who habitually contact the ground with their heels and/or have very mobile feet when they run barefoot or in minimal shoes.
It seems runners who habitually contact the ground with their heel while running find it difficult to switch to contacting the ground with more of their midfoot or forefoot, which is what barefoot running tends to promote.
Those with mobile feet may need their muscles to work harder to stiffen the foot when pushing the foot off the ground while running.
Barefoot running may not be for everyone. It will not make you faster or reduce overall injury rate, and there is no evidence running barefoot burns more calories than running with shoes.