不管是小朋友或是成人，現在市面上販售著各種運動型、功能型與矯正的鞋款，但對於小朋友來說，什麼樣的鞋最適合他們跑步呢？在《Anatomy for Runners》也有談到這個話題，對於小朋友來說，最好的鞋子是什麼呢？【不穿鞋】。
談到跑步，一定會談到「非洲的跑者(African runners)」，這本書也不例外，原文是這樣說的：
I’ve had the privilege of working with some African runners. These athletes were born without shoes, and ran, played, hunted, and harvested crops without shoes on. Back in the anatomy chapter, we discussed that soft tissues and bones remodel based on the way they are loaded.
(這些非洲的運動員從出生開始，進行跑步、玩樂、打獵等活動都不穿鞋。回到這本書第三章說的，軟組織與骨骼會因為他們所承受的負重而重塑。)
山姆伯伯帶大家來回顧一下，來看看骨骼的部份：
Bone is a highly adaptive material that can alter its properties and configuration in response to mechanical demands. Wolf’s Law of bone remodeling states:
{ Where there is optimal stress (loading) within bone, deposits of bone occur at a greater rate than bone resorption. Thus the bone becomes stronger.
When there is nonoptimal stress (whether from excessive training stress or severe lack of activity, as during bed rest), deposits of bone occur at a lower rate than bone resorption. The bone becomes weaker.}
Bones respond well to compressive forces. Controlled, progressive increase in the load applied to the bone through training result in positive adaptations. Bone is the only connective tissue in the body that is capable of repair to 100 percent of its original preinjured state.
(骨骼是一個高度適應性的材質。在Wolf定律有說到，骨骼的生長會隨著所承受的負荷而產生變化。適當的負荷，可以讓骨骼變得更加強壯；但負荷若過高或是缺乏活動時(睡眠休息時)，會使得骨骼弱化。骨骼對於壓力是有良好的反應，在受控制、循序的狀況下，增加骨骼的負荷對於發育上有正向的影響。)
而軟組織的部份，以肌肉發展來說，大家應該十分熟悉，山姆伯伯就略過。
因此，基於上述的原因，書籍作者的建議在20歲前的快速發育階段，以赤腳的方式讓更多身體結構上的負荷加注在腳上，來發展更為強壯與穩定的足部，他讓家裡的4歲及初學走路的小朋友都是以這種方式來發展強而穩定的足部。
Going barefoot throughout their rapid growth periods in the first two decades placed more mechanical load on their foot than the typical American kid wearing blinking light-up marshmallows.
但作者也說明，並沒有任何的資料來支撐著他的說法，但他不以為意：
Do I have stacks of independent peer-reviewed data to back up my claims that unshod societies have better feet than shoed societies? Nope, can I could care less. After being simple blown away by the straight big toe alignment, incredible foot strength, and stability of runners who grew up sans traditional footwear.
作者並不是要告訴其它的父母如何養育他們的小孩，而是提供一些資訊讓大家來思考這個問題，此外，近幾年市面上也有了兒童的極簡鞋的出現。雖然目前赤足的研究都在成人身上，但作者也期望父母親們不要忽略這樣的資訊。
