You could run barefoot. Why not? Humans evolved over millions of years hunting down prey with spears and running barefoot. The human foot architecture, with its many bones, arches, fatty pads, ligaments, tendons, and muscles, worked very well on the untilled soil, grassy plains, and forest floors of our ancient ancestors. But we don’t live in ancient times. We live in a world of concrete, asphalt, stone pavers, and wooden floors. And more importantly, some of us work off our diet of refined sugar, salt, and saturated fat by running long miles on a regular basis. The combination of concrete and running is painful to the unprotected foot. That is why we invented running shoes.