"Running barefoot" and "wear running shoes" certainly don't seem to belong in the same sentence, but there's a whole new category of footwear designed to help runners feel like they're running barefoot. Olympic running athletes have trained by running barefoot because it forces the runner to make a soft landing on the front of the foot, reducing the possibility of knee and ankle injuries. With the exception of the shoe from Puma, they aren't all that pretty, but hey, sometimes bare feet aren't all that pretty either.

• Vibram Five Fingers, www.vibramfivefingers.com
  
• Nike Free 5.0, www.nike.com
  
• AEI, www.aeishoes.com
  
• Puma Cortlandt XC, www.puma.com