Is barefoot running or running with shoes better?

It is much better to run barefoot. I've been doing it for four years now, and I have had no adverse effects from it. By running barefoot, it is impossible to land in such a way that your knees absorb the impact. Instead, you land so that your calves absorb the impact. You will be surprised when you start running barefoot how sore your calf muscles are afterward. Besides, it is much better to absorb impact with a muscle than a joint. The soles of my feet have toughened up considerably, but I do not have nasty calluses like most would think. All I can say is that if you have never tried running barefoot, give it a try. Start on a smooth surface, and work up from there. Your feet toughen up very quickly. Before you know it, you'll be able to run barefoot for miles on any surface. This year, I've run about five hundred miles barefoot, almost all of it on concrete.