"(I'm) trying this new fad called uh, jogging. I believe it's jogging or yogging. It might be a soft J. I'm not sure but apparently you just run for an extended period of time. It's supposed to be wild," Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.

Running, formally known as jogging, has remained immensely popular, Mr. Burgundy -- as attested to by the $20 billion running-shoe industry and crowded city sidewalks on early weekend mornings.

It's also an incredibly hated pastime.

"It's too painful," "It's boring," "I don't have the right build" are all common complaints, besides the whole "I don't exercise" thing that seems to be gripping the flabby waists of North Americans like sugar to a doughnut.

And a growing number of scientists and runners are, not ironically, blaming running shoes for some of the physical complaints involved in the sport.

The most specific complaint is that running shoes have changed the way the bare foot naturally strikes the ground while running, from the balls of the feet to a harder impact on the heel of the foot.

"People who don't wear shoes when they run have an astonishingly different strike (on impact)," Daniel Lieberman of Harvard University wrote in a statement for his oft-cited article in January's Nature journal.

Lieberman and his team from Harvard, the University of Glasgow, and Kenya's Moi University found barefoot runners used their foot and calf muscles more efficiently than their shoe-wearing counterparts.

Greg Wells, an exercise psychologist and sport scientist, spoke to CTV's Canada AM earlier this week, and said many studies have supported the heel-strike hypothesis in running shoe wearers.

"Now people are arguing whether (the heel strike) is the cause of various different injuries that we can try to avoid by running barefoot," he said.

The injuries associated include lesser wounds like ankle sprains to more deliberating injuries such as knee osteoarthritis or plantar fasciitis.

Chris McDougall's fascinating book, "Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes and the Greatest Race the World has Never Seen," has been a call to arms for the barefoot running craze.

His exploration of the Tarahumara Indian tribe in the Mexican Copper Canyons -- a tribe that with the seemingly superhuman ability to run ultra marathons at amazing speeds while wearing light sandals, even into old age -- along with a heaping side of science, leads him to conclude humans are evolutionally designed to run long distances barefoot.

A big man at 6'4 with numerous running injuries, McDougall claims he has gone injury-free since he made the switch to barefoot running.

The body wants to run barefoot, he argues, and running shoes are like a cast for the feet.

Is free and natural really better?

While the number of injuries has no doubt increased since the invention of the running shoe, it is hard to argue that the running shoe -- and the millions of dollars of marketing involved – has not directly lead to an explosion in popularity for the sport over the last 40 years.

If you're a Canadian runner, chances are you know of John Stanton, the founder and president of the Running Room and the winner of numerous awards for his contributions to fitness.

Speaking to CTV.ca while on a holiday in southern California, Stanton says he knows his business gives him a bias against the barefoot movement, but that running sneakers are more practical -- and safer -- for the overwhelming majority of runners.

"You're seeing far more people at the races, people of every shape and size are able to run," he said. "I firmly believe, and it's not just because we are in the business of selling running shoes, that more people are able to run today thanks to better technology in running shoes.

"The primary focus (of shoe manufacturers) is to keep people running, not to have them injured."

But Stanton isn't completely against the barefoot trend, sounding some support for ‘minimalist' shoe wear, such as the Nike Free, a shoe meant to emulate running barefoot.

"I'm certainly not a proponent of barefoot running, but minimalist running, for someone looking at a performance level for running, it may be conducive," he said.

Stanton noted that despite "hoards of interest" in the running community on the barefoot phenomenon, you still only see one or two people running races barefoot, despite thousands of runners.

"Most people are trying to win the race of life, and trying to enjoy it for what it is," he said, noting properly chosen running shoes make it easier for those new to the sport.

Running sneakers do make the activity significantly more accessible for newcomers, and it's hard to argue the benefits of the pastime.

From better cardiovascular health, weight loss, to a sounder sleep and an improved mood, running is the closest elixir science has found to a Fountain of Youth.

While runners, especially those logging serious miles, are inevitably going to deal with some injuries, the benefits vastly outweigh sitting on the couch.

Adding barefoot training

Still, experts say adding some barefoot training to your regular training should improve your running.

Wells says it's best to follow the running 10 per cent rule -- that is not to change your current routine by more than 10 per cent a week.

"If you interested in doing (barefoot running), try it for 10 per cent of your training, just make this little tiny adjustments over a long period of time." he said.

"We're just adding more complexity to training, strengthening the foot, strengthening the lower legs, so you can run faster and without injury."

Instead of starting with a 10K on bare feet, try adding shorter distances such as hill sprints in a grassy park, or running slowly on the beach.

Stanton sounds a similar note to Wells on the secrets to avoiding injury.

"It's a compulsive sport . . . too fast, too soon, too quickly, is generally what gets people into trouble (with injuries)," he said. "You can go faster, you can go longer, but you have to go with a gradual buildup.

If you're not a runner, it's pretty unlikely you will ever be one if you start barefoot running living in North America. If you're a serious runner, however, there is little reason not to add it to your training for shorter distances and see what all the fuss is about.

Next week, this reporter will write about his experiences adding barefoot training to his running repertoire.