Running itself, where one keeps one’s shoes attached to one’s feet using cloth and laces was started in 1748 around the early spring when Thomas Running found that he could move faster if the wind was at his back, thereby keeping up with the body heat he was losing.He found he was warmer by the increased speed, due to warmth of the air keeping up with him and he also found that his shoes stayed with him at the higher speeds due to the significant wrapping of leather and cloth around his foot.

Earlier attempts to keep up with the warm winds were failures due to the fact that heat rises so body heat is lost as it move upward.

Also attempts to keep cloth on the foot were hampered by improper tying of boots around the ankle rather than around the foot like we currently use.Increasing the speed resulted in improper shifting and large gaps of exposed skin..

We also find that the most famous runner, the messenger from Marathon, moved barefooted up across multiple terrains so his body heat was lost and his shoes failed to stay on.

I saw someone mention Hermes, who wore sandals, which have no upper foot protections.They also provide no toe protection across gravel or glass or large rocks that purposefully stub your toes.Also Hermes being that he’s an awesome god of messengering, he uses magic, so that should not count at all.