Last year at Mohican I got hit with a ton of blisters and it ended up forcing me out of the race. Nick had the same problem and finally recommended me some good, expensive socks that supposedly do the trick: the $20/pair Drymax Socks Maximum Proctection "made for ultra runners, guaranteeing to keep your feet drier than any other pair of sock" socks. Since these were the "top-notch" socks that everyone loves, I kept them in the back of my mind and was going to buy them as my mileage picked up and as I got closer to attempting another 100 mile race (Woodstock is 9/24).
So the other day I forked out $60 for three pairs of them, assuming they'd get me through a 50 mile race. I ran six miles in them the other day and felt fine. I was on a ten mile run today and at mile EIGHT my feet were soaked with sweat! I could feel the water sloshing around. I came home and I already had a little blister on my toe. The crazy thing was that it was cooler out today (76 degrees) than my other runs and for some reason I noticed the wetness in these socks more than other socks on different runs.
I'm pretty disappointed as big races are approaching and I have yet to find a solution to blisters. I wasn't even in water today and my socks were wet. What the heck am I going to do with a million water and mud-caca crossings during a race? Buy 30 pairs of socks and then change my socks every five miles? Maybe I should just run in water shoes. After all, wouldn't water shoes be similar to Vibram shoes and isn't barefoot running in style nowadays?
Someone at my last race suggested putting the powder that you put on baby's butts on your feet to help. I forget what it's called. I'll go ahead and get my money back for these socks and keep on searching for solutions.
Am I the only one having problems? No one else in these ultras seems to suffer. Any suggestions? Any help?
7 comments:
I am a big fan of injinji five fingered socks. I ran Dances with Dirt Gnaw Bone this past spring and my feet were wet the whole race and I came out of that with out any blisters. Ran the Burning River 100 (only made 71 miles due to chaffing issues but that is another story...)but no blisters, one lost toe nail.
Sorry...I spelled chafing wrong on my first post. Name is not Anonymous either.
Bernard
I have injinji socks and have still gotten blisters. However, I think I might like them more than the Drymax so that might be the way to go...along with possible duck tape and baby powder. Thanks.
Since I've never run more than 8 miles at a time, I've never had to deal with this, so I can't really offer any advice. However I will say that friction causes blisters (I'm sure you're aware of that) so water shoes wouldn't be much better unless they were extremely form fitting. I've found that it's really hard to find the balance between good shoe tightness and cutting off the circulation to your feet. And how does no one else have this problem? Seems like everyone would.
Yeah...maybe I just have jacked up shoes. I've been running in the same type of shoes (Brooks Adrenaline GTS) for years and maybe they're what's causing all the pain. Ay ay ay
http://www.wrightsock.com/
These things work!! I've run three 100's in them as well as many other ultras - even some long stretches at Badwater (pacing) - with NO blisters.
Even though they are double-layer socks, they are super thin - not bulky at all... This lets them dry quickly as well...
The only knock is they don't last a long time - but it's worth it to go blister free...
REI carries them and I rarely pay more than $ 10.00 a pair... sometimes they are on sale...
I will definitely try out those socks- thanks!
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