Due in part to Christopher McDougal’s book “Born to Run”, there has been a small but growing revolution in the way we think about our feet. The human hand has always bathed in the spotlight and been universally praised as a miracle of pure functionality and beauty. Meanwhile, the lowly foot has all but been shunned, stuffed into ill-fitting shoes and dismissed as inferior. Sure, the hand may be longer, leaner and more elegant to look at and the foot, more… shall I say, utilitarian. But in terms of importance to the life and function of any human being, the foot is every bit as crucial and capable.

There are 26 bones in the human foot and a dazzling array of 33 joints, which are made up of over 100 tendons, ligaments and muscles (the hand has 27 bones and a similar make-up). So why would the universe stuff all of those crazy parts into something everyone either ignores or thinks doesn’t work too well? Let’s put this into perspective and remember that without the outstanding design of the foot, a lot of the beauty of human movement simply wouldn’t be possible. Activities such as ballet, figure skating, skateboarding and basketball would be pretty much impossible if we had hoofs, paws or talons.
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