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Running + (5)

In this sprightly talk (transcript and video) Daniel Lieberman describes why our bodies are so good at running long distances, how our social intelligence developed and how modernity and capitalism require us to learn (or relearn) how to use our bodies. (May inspire tolerance for people who wear five-fingered shoes.) Prof. Lieberman studies human evolution at Harvard where he focuses on heads and feet. (via Tyler Cowen)
posted by noway on Oct 20, 2012 - 40 comments

Live From The House Of Blue Leaves, It's The 5. 6. 7. 8.'s! This all-girl Japanese punk/surf rock trio is best known in the west for performing "Woo Hoo" in Kill Bill Volume One, but two other performances were filmed during shooting, "I Walk Like Jayne Mansfield " and "I'm Blue" (Music starts at 3:01) Bonus Material: (I'm Sorry Momma) I'm A Wild One. Teenage Celopatra Hanky Panky Bomb The Twist Roadrunner Interviewed on Chic-A-Go-Go
posted by The Whelk on Oct 21, 2011 - 18 comments

A few years back MeFi'er freshwater_pr0n covered the burgeoning trend of barefoot & minimalist footwear running. The trend has continued with Fila now producing a look-alike to the popular Vibram Five Fingers shoes, but the jury is still out, scientifically speaking, regarding the impact of running in little to no footwear. One study points to low loading rate as the potential key to injuries, while longtime running researcher Benno M. Nigg's new text says just the opposite and a third (excerpted) study seems to point out that a change in footfall/strike correlates to footwear but may not reduce injuries. Given the shifting scientific analysis, runners are left with impassioned testimonials and heated debates. Nigg's advice might ring truest: shoe comfort is "probably the most important variable". [more inside]
posted by mostlymuppet on Mar 23, 2011 - 62 comments

The "Barefoot Bandit" (previously), crashed an airplane in the Bahamas this month. The FBI and other law enforcment have been searching for him for over two years. His Facebook page has nearly 60 thousand friends. After eluding US authorities, he has been caught in the Bahamas. In other news, his mother is shopping for a book deal. Carry on.
posted by shockingbluamp on Jul 11, 2010 - 136 comments

An 18-year-old outlaw in Washington State had been a police target for years. He's now really into stealing and crashing planes, and of course has a Facebook Fan Page. He evades the police by disappearing into the woods, Robin Hood-style.
posted by jasonsmall on Oct 8, 2009 - 65 comments

"At Stanford University two sales representatives from Nike were watching the athletics team practise. Part of their job was to gather feedback from the company's sponsored runners about which shoes they preferred. Unfortunately, it was proving difficult that day as the runners all seemed to prefer... nothing" - from Christopher McDougall's forthcoming book "Born to Run" which looks at the story the growth of the $20 billion running shoe industry. Starting form Bill Bowerman's Cortez in 1972 onwards runners have seen a steady flow of innovations to improve performance and reduce injury rates. Only it would appear they may not work. By way of contrast the book includes coverage of the Mexican Tarahumara tribe who run ultramarathons with shoes made from car tyres on their feet.
posted by rongorongo on Apr 20, 2009 - 38 comments

You Walk Wrong. "It took 4 million years of evolution to perfect the human foot. But we’re wrecking it with every step we take." [Via]
posted by homunculus on Apr 22, 2008 - 102 comments

Have these fellows whetted your appetite for Southern Hemispherical comic singer-songwriters who care about The Issues? Barefoot Australian Tim Minchin ought to satisfy that hunger with an environmental anthem and a peace anthem. But aside from his social activism, he's also vulgar, poignant, dark, and of course, rock. [more inside]
posted by doift on Nov 14, 2007 - 3 comments

Once you go barefoot, you won't go back For many serious runners, the best running shoe is no shoe at all. Barefoot runners find themselves less prone to injuries such as plantar fascitis and ankle sprains, possibly because their feet get such a good workout. For those who would like to experience the benefits of barefoot running without the worry of road hazards like broken glass and cooties, Vibram Fivefingers are the next best thing.
posted by freshwater_pr0n on Mar 23, 2007 - 36 comments

Florida's Barefoot Mailmen traveled 68-mile routes between Palm Beach and Miami in the late 1800s. Walking 40 miles (barefoot) and rowing 28 miles over the course of three days each way, these letter carriers brought efficiency to a postal route that previously required that "a letter from Palm Beach to Miami begin its trip at the lighthouse community of Jupiter, 22 miles north, then by an Indian River steamboat to the rail head at Titusville. By train it continued to New York's port and from there by steamer to Havana. From Cuba, a trading schooner took the letter to Miami. It took a voyage of 3,000 miles and a period of six weeks to two months for a letter to arrive in Miami." Ed Hamilton, who disappeared in the course of duty (and whose mysterious death may have been engineered by moving his rowboat out of reach in alligator-infested waters), is honored with a bronze statue in Hillsboro Beach.
posted by occhiblu on Mar 14, 2007 - 6 comments

Why your horse should go barefoot The single most convincing thing for me was to see a thermograph of a horse's feet - three of which were without shoes and one which was shod.
posted by Lanark on Sep 17, 2006 - 59 comments