Cushy Running Shoes May Be Dangerous

Adidas deal predates player with inherited preference for Nike

(NEWSER) - Michael Jordan’s son wants to wear the shoes his dad made famous when he plays college basketball this season—but if he does, he could wind up costing the University of Central Florida $3 million. Marcus Jordan insists on wearing Nike Air Jordans, but UCF has a deal with adidas. Athletic department officials “said they had talked to the adidas people,” Jordan, a freshman, tells the Orlando Sentinel. More»

Runners' 'motion groove' can prevents arthritis in old age

(NEWSER) - Conventional wisdom holds that running will eventually trash your knees by wearing down their cartilage, ultimately leading to arthritis. But that may have to be revised: Recent studies suggest that runners may have healthier knees in old age than their sedentary peers, reports Gretchen Reynolds for the New York Times. Scientists theorize that runners’ knees develop a “motion groove” that conditions the cartilage to support rhythmic stress, protecting it into old age. More»

French prez 'felt faint,' undergoing medical tests

(AP) - Nicolas Sarkozy “felt faint” during his usual morning jog today, reports the Guardian, and was admitted to the hospital where he was under observation and undergoing further tests. Elysee Palace declined to comment further, saying it would release further details this afternoon. The energetic French president is known as something of a fitness fanatic. More»

(NEWSER) - Humans may be built for day-long hunts that could take a pack 100 miles, all without shoes, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. “We didn’t evolve as weight lifters, yoga gurus, or swimmers,” says barefoot runner Christopher McDougall, whose book Born to Run explores the hypothesis. “We evolved as long-distance runners.” And some scientists concur, citing adaptations that make humans superior even to primates when it comes to hunting. More»

Wants $25K in damages after flying footwear hit him in face

(NEWSER) - An Ohio man is suing a strip club for $25,000 after a stripper’s shoe flew off and clocked him in the nose, the Daily Telegraph reports. A year after the incident, he says he’ll need surgery and can only breath from one nostril. “When the boot hit me in my face all I could do is drop... and just holler for about ten minutes,” he said. More»