A Foot Care Clinic for 200 Milers
Ryan Ramsby completed the 2024 Cocodona 250 and is now training for the Tahoe 200. 100+ explores the gear, nutrition, logistics, and training required to tackle 100+ mile races.
You can run 100-mile weeks, dial nutrition, nail your gear selection, and be mentally in the pocket… BUT… fail at proper foot care during the race and the train is off the tracks.
Going into Cocodona last year, this was my biggest fear. I felt I could deal with everything else, but after watching Sally McRae’s documentary I was immediately stressed.
If someone as seasoned as her could make such a small mistake that would lead to such a dramatic issue, how bad of a situation could I as a rookie get myself into?
There are so many opinions on foot care, I want to emphasize this is simply my strategy that worked for me and lead to virtually zero issue causing blisters through 250 miles.
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First. Sock selection
I think this may be even more important than shoe selection.
I ended up going exclusively with DarnTough socks. Made in America (Vermont) and come with a lifetime guarantee.
Hard to beat.
I had ordered multiple options from them to train in. Some included cushioning, some had no cushion, some were thicker, some were thinner.
The one I ended up running all 250 miles in was the Frontrunner Micro Crew Ultra-Lightweight.
Luckily, I had two pairs of this sock and my crew would literally wash the worn pair between each aid station, so I constantly had a fresh clean sock to put on.
Second. Shoe Selection
I took a couple of different shoes with me to Cocodona.
Luckily, I had read a couple pieces about not only taking multiple shoes, but completely different models of shoes. What this meant was I had a big thick max stack ultra cushioned shoe (Hoka Stinson 7), and a more nimble less stack less cushioned shoe (Salomon S-Lab Ultra).
What I found was as the race went on, my feet began to sting and had a burning sensation. Due to what I assume was just over stimulation of the nerves on the bottom of my feet.
The only relief I could find was periodically switching from one shoe to the complete opposite shoe.
The difference in the way I was landing, the cushioning, the stack height, the drop, etc. made all the difference in relieving a bit of discomfort.
So, not only taking multiple shoes, but taking multiple different styles of shoes is a solid move.
The only relief I could find was periodically switching from one shoe to the complete opposite shoe. The difference in the way I was landing, the cushioning, the stack height, the drop, etc. made all the difference in relieving a bit of discomfort. So, not only taking multiple shoes, but taking multiple different styles of shoes is a solid move.
Third. Clean and dry feet
This is where I might differ from others like Josh who prefers Body Glide or even vaseline at times.
I am in the camp of dry, clean feet vs. lubed up feet. I find that when I lube my feet, the fine dust particles accumulate and begin to stick to the lube and cause friction points.
I much prefer a focus on keeping my feet as dry as possible.
DarnTough socks are merino, which really helps with temperature regulation and handling sweat.
I found wiping my feet down with baby wipes, letting them air dry before putting socks on, and consistent clean sock changes can help reduce and eliminate issues.
Fourth. Immediate action.
Anytime I began to feel what I thought may be a hot spot, no matter where I was, I would stop and immediately address the situation.
For Cocodona the only spot that eventually became a potential area of concern was the outside of my heels.
I carried with me at all times a blister prevention kit that included 3 key things.
Individual Alcohol Wipes.
Individual Skin-Prep Wipes (Smith & Nephew)
PreCut Blister Protection Strips (KT Tape).
I’d start with wiping the area down with the alcohol wipes to clean the area. Then the skin prep wipes create a bit of tackiness to the skin to help with adhesion.
Followed by the KT tape over the area of concern. I would check it at each aid station and if needed I would reapply, if not I would just leave it be and move on.
This helped eliminate the hot spots from ever turning into anything more than a small blister. There are obviously other great products out there, such as Leukotape that you can buy and cut into different lengths and widths, etc.
I found it extremely convenient to always have 3-5 of each of the three products in my pack.
For Tahoe, I plan to do my best to replicate this exact strategy.
I am going to be wearing DarnTough socks without a doubt.
My shoe choices are the Asics Trabuco Max 4 and the La Sportiva Prodigio Pro. Two shoes that fall on different ends of the spectrum. And of course I will pack the three products mentioned above into my pack.
Footcare isn’t the sexiest part of these multiday efforts, but it’s necessary.
As long as you have a plan and address the issues as soon as possible you can prevent bigger issues. The time spent on your feet is definitely an investment for the later miles.
