Socks that Work for You

Two weeks ago, I was in Death Valley to help as part of the medical team for the Badwater Ultramarathon, a 135-mile run from Badwater, the lowest point in the continental U.S. to the Mt. Whitney Portal, at about 8600 feet. This race is always held in July to challenge the runners with extreme heat. The route is entirely on roads, however the runners often favor the rocky sides rather then the hot asphalt. As you might guess, this usually takes a toll on the runner’s feet.

In addition to the foot work done by the runners’ crews, three of us patched a lot of tired and hurting feet. Denise Jones, called the “Blister Queen of Badwater,” Gillian Robinson of Zombierunner.com, and I were all busy up and down the course.  By the way, I am running an interview with Denise in the next issue of my Fixing Your Feet Ezine.

 

I was wearing socks from Drymax and had two extra pair. I like these socks because they do a superb job of elimination moisture against your feet. While other socks have wicking capabilities, Drymax socks are made with an inner thread that hates water, making it pass through to the outer surface of the sock. With wicking socks, water adheres to the fiber’s surface. Once wicking fibers get wet, they stay wet. The fibers hold the moisture next to the skin ensuring the skin stays wet. Conversely, with Drymax socks, water drops actually bend around the Drymax fiber, rather than sticking to its surface. This happens because Drymax fibers do not carry surface charges, so the negative & positive charges of water are not attracted to Drymax fibers. Because sweat clings to wicking fibers, the foot remains wet when wearing socks made of wicking fibers. Also the process of wicking must rely on evaporation for the fibers to dry out. Evaporation is a relatively slow process, especially in humid environments such as inside a shoe, where evaporation takes place at a much slower rate than sweating.

 

When sweat droplets move through the Drymax water-hating fibers they stay together and move instantly through the fibers. Drymax stays dry and therefore needs no drying time to keep the skin dry. I have noticed this when I wear the socks. Others have too.

 

So, back to the Badwater story. Jon, the runner from a year ago whose horrible feet I patched (click here to read his story in the August 2007 Fixing Your Feet Ezine), came into Panamint Springs needing some minor foot patching. Once I finished, I looked at his socks and offered him a pair of my Drymax socks.  Denise Jones gave away two pair of Drymax socks. The runners were appreciative and finished the race successfully. Jon told me he loved the socks.

 

Trust me, these socks work for you. I wrote a lengthy review of the socks in the June Fixing Your Feet newsletter. If you are in the market for new socks, or if you want to see how they will reduce your likelihood of blisters, check them out. The website is DrymaxSocks.com and they can also be found at Zombierunner.com. Just click on Store and then Socks.

 

After all, we need to keep our feet happy.