Vicky Kypta is the Medical Team Manager for the Jungle Marathon, which starts October 6 in the Amazon in Brazil. Last year she did an informal survey of the participants and the results are interesting. The race lasts seven days and goes through the jungle on pre-existing paths, trails, and tracks with natural obstacles to pass including streams and shallow rivers. This leads to feet that are constantly wet.
This is the race that I will be at in a few days.
Vicky shared the results of the questionnaire and commented it was quite interesting, although the sample group was quite small. There were about 30 participants.
Here are some of the findings:
- 77% of the respondents wore Injinji socks
- 100% of those NOT wearing Injinji sock got blisters
- 46% of those wearing Injinji sock got blisters: out of those 50% were on the balls of the foot and 50% were on the toes. Those who had blisters on their toes all wore shoes in their normal size.
Out of those with no blisters:
- 100% wore Injinji socks
- 100% wore shoes one size larger
- 75% applied some form of anti-friction compound to their feet; i.e. Body Glide, 2nd Skin or Zinc Oxide cream
- 75% pre-taped problem areas or hotspots
I find this interesting and wonder what we will find with the 78 participants next week. The Jungle Marathons are well run and the staff tells runners to train with wet feet. They have found this results in less foot problems.
The results are striking in several areas (remember this is a seven day stage race):
- All the runners who did not get blisters wore Injinji socks and shoes a full size larger than their normal shoes
- All the runners who did not wear Injinji socks got blisters
- Runners wearing their normal size shoes all got toe blisters
- The majority of blisters were on the forefoot and toes
Over the past 17 years, I have worked a lot of ultramarathons and multi-day stage races. I can honestly say that overall, feet have improved. More runners are prepared and know how to manage their feet.
When I return, I will share what we found at this year’s Amazon Jungle Marathon.
