The newest thing in running is the "barefoot" running tread, aided by Vibram Five Fingers shoes so people don't end up with shards of glass and old bubble gum in their feet.  I think there is probably some value in running without traditional shoes, but I have no plans of trying it out.  Why?  Well, there are a couple reasons.

1)  The feeling of fabric rubbing together between my toes makes me cringe.  As does the feeling of cotton balls being pulled apart, but that doesn't seem relevant here.  And this isn't just an "I don't like it", it's a "makes the base of my neck spasm and I get a little nauseous".  Why?  I don't know.  Seems a little irrational to me.  But when tall toe socks were the trend back in middle school, I had to forgo the fad because the thought of cotton between my toes made me cringe.  And since, to wear Vibram Five Fingers, I would also have to wear socks with little toes, I just can't do it. 

2)  I have abnormally long toes.  The short little stubby spaces allotted for toes in the Vibram Five Fingers would only accommodate about half my toe, meaning that the shoe wouldn't bend in the right spot, and the whole fit would be off.  I have this problem with anything that relies on having normal sized toes.  Like flip flops.  The little toe thing is too far forward and my toes hand off the front.  Obnoxious.  Anyway, this would be a deal breaker.  Shoes bending at places they weren't meant to bend never ends well.  Creates foot issues.  I don't want foot issues.

Sadly, I will never know what it's like to run barefoot, with something on my feet.  I have run actually barefoot on the beach.  That is nice.  But other than that, I'll just stick to my regular running shoes.  They work fine.