Anyone who has seen my taping knows that I put a premium on a good tape job. When I patch feet during a race, my aim is to apply tape in a way that the athlete can continue his or her run.
What this means to me is the tape must become a part of the foot – a second skin. The tape must not interfere with the fit of the foot, inside a sock, inside a shoe. That means a smooth and thin tape job. On certain occasions, I may apply a double layer of tape, it the condition of the foot warrants it. Sometimes that means an overlapping section of tape from one side of the foot to the other. It can also mean small sections of tape overlapping when one piece of tape goes on a toe side to side, and another piece bottom to top.
But too often tape is applied in a hurry, usually by an athlete in a hurry. He or she thinks that they don’t have time to do a good tape job – or they don’t know how. In some cases, they are by themselves in a race, other times; they may have a crew that knows little or nothing about patching feet. What they end up with is extra tape, folds in the tape, skin pinched in the tape, tape that doesn’t stick, tape where you don’t need tape, and more.
The images in the post are from the Gold Rush Adventure Race this past weekend. I will not name the team nor show faces. The racer whose feet are pictured seemed happy with his patch job. I have to assume how the tape felt was a different story. The folds in the tape must irritate the skin. The tape used was white athletic tape – and I know it doesn’t stick well. I watched the athlete wrap the tape in a hurry, tearing it off in sections.
His crewmember told me he offered to tape the athlete’s foot, but the offer was refused. He then told me he was going to buy each of the four team members a copy of Fixing Your Feet.
I know that some of my patch jobs don’t work. Whether that is a failure on my part is an unknown. I give each tape job my best. Sometimes the athlete is in a hurry and just wants something tossed on – which most times I try not to do. Other times the feet are in such poor condition that taping is a temporary fix at best. I often see feet that are so bad that patching is very hard. I like to say that I can patch anything – but if the skin has deteriorated with blisters or maceration that does not give good traction for the tape, then that patch may not work well over time.
I know I have some great success stories from athletes whose feet I have taped. Many times though, I don’t get feedback. That makes it hard to know whether the tape job held or how much it helped.
Is his tape job bad? The bottom line is whether it worked for him. I doubt it.
