Glove-Footed Runners....Riverfront Park

This morning, I encountered two women running in some interesting footwear, what looked to be rubberized gloves for the feet. I am, as you may recall (or perhaps you do not, which is quite understandable), a dabbler in alternative footwear for exercise. So I boldly stepped in front of them and asked to know about these foot gloves. My goodness, these vivacious ladies were a font of information.

One of them had just read a book called Born to Run. If you encounter someone who has read this book, perhaps you should quickly turn and run the other way. (I fear its readers have a spiritual experience and become the sort one tries to avoid at cocktail parties.)
If you do stay, however, you will learn about the practice of barefoot running, which the women say this footwear helps you approximate without the unsightly abrasions. Most intriguing to me is that the foot gloves come in a variety of colours--once again demonstrating that endearing human need to decorate even odd little utilitarian items like these.

I'm curious--do these shoe/socks represent a trend or a more permanent shift in running shoes? Do you know? Have you tried them?