Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

McDougall begins Chapter 25 writing “Barefoot Ted was right, of course” (168). What the author meant by this was the point that “running shoes may be the most destructive force to ever hit the human foot” (168). That is because modern running shoes make our feet weak by causing us to over-pronate (168). According to McDougall, Nike knew this fact not long after they invented the modern athletic shoe in 1972 (168-169). He goes on to lay out three “painful truths” about running shoes. The first of these is that studies have proven that runners wearing more expensive shoes are more likely to suffer injury. The second is that studies have proven that runners wearing shoes with less cushioning are less prone to injury because their feet are more stable. The final truth is that humans were designed to run without shoes. McDougall argues that because of running shoes, feet have “become badly deconditioned over the last twenty-five years” (175).

In closing the chapter, McDougall further discusses the evolution of Nike and the problems with modern running shoes. The company was founded in the 1960s by Phil Knight, a runner at the University of Oregon, and Bill Bowerman, his track coach who McDougall argues “thought he knew everything” (179).