Foot Care Archives - Page 2 of 20

Jun 12, 2017 · by John · In: blister care, Foot Care, Foot Care Products, Footcare, Footwear, Footwear Products Tagged: blisters, Foot Care, maceration, Western States, wet feet

In less than two weeks is the running of the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run. I will be at the 55.7-mile Michigan Bluff aid station, along with Tonya Olson and others on the medical team. Our aim is to make sure you are healthy to continue on towards Placer High School and a good finish. For the past six years, the mountains have been dry and the trails dusty. Feet get caked with dirt. Blisters are caused by the dust and dirt as an irritant inside shoes and socks. 2011 was the last snow …

Apr 17, 2017 · by John · In: Foot Care, Footcare, Health, Sports Tagged: conditioning your feet, Fixing Your Feet, Foot Care, Footcare, Miles on your feet, training miles

I have worked medical and provided foot care at hundreds of ultramarathons, adventure races, walks, and multiday races and have seen the same thing over and over—runners who do not have a good training base. Of course there is not a set number of miles you need to run to do well at a race. Conditions vary. Some may get by with minimal miles a week, others run over 100 miles or even over 150 miles a week as they ram up for a big event. By and large though, the runners with more miles on their …

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Jul 24, 2016 · by John · In: blister care, Books, Foot Care, Foot Care Products, Footcare, Footwear, Footwear Products, Health, Sports Tagged: extreme foot care, Fixing Your Feet, fixing your feet 6th edition, Foot Care

After 14 months of revising and updating, editing and then editing again, and issues with the cover, the 6th edition of Fixing Your Feet is available. While it has been available for pre-order in Amazon, they now have the print version in stock and ready to ship. Amazon currently has the 6th edition priced at $13.64, well below the retail price of $19.95 – a great buy. Here’s a link if you want to order a copy. The Kindle ebook version will be released in about two weeks. As I meet runners …

Jun 18, 2016 · by John · In: blister care, Foot Care, Foot Care Products, Footwear, toenails Tagged: blister care, blisters, Foot Care, maceration, toenail care

Next week is the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run and all the fun and hoopla that goes with it. I ran the race from 1985 – 1989 with a best time of 24:32. It was a challenge but I had fun every year. Ever since then I have been associated with the run in some capacity and for the last 16 or so years have provided foot care help at an aid station or two and the finish line. In that time I have seen a lot of runners come through aid stations needing foot care. This year I decided to make a …

May 20, 2016 · by John · In: blister care, Foot Care, Footcare, Sports Tagged: aid stations, blister care, blister prevention, Foot Care

A month ago I wrote a blog post about two multi-day races in Europe that are implementing a triage system for medical care at aid station – the outcome of their being overwhelmed by the amount of treatment and time that their participant’s blistered feet were requiring. Here a link to that post about Providing Foot Care for Athletes. In this post, I want to expand on a quote from their website that I included in the original post. It was about the 6Ps of foot care. They stated that foot care …

Apr 22, 2016 · by John · In: blister care, Foot Care, Health, Sports Tagged: Fixing Your Feet, Foot Care, mandatory gear, patching your feet, self-assisted foot care

Providing foot care for athletes at ultramarathons and multi-day events is a huge responsibility. Their feet are what keep them going, and if you are known for providing foot care, the athletes will be appreciative of whatever you can do. If you are simply helping one runner, you might be a bit more casual. But if you will be part of a foot-care team, you need to be prepared. In 2015 race directors of several multi-day ultramarathons in Europe were overwhelmed by shear volume of runners seeking …

Mar 15, 2016 · by John · In: blister care, Foot Care, Foot Care Products, Footcare, Footwear, Footwear Products, Health, Sports Tagged: Foot Care, science of ultra, shawn bearden

A while back I was interviewed about foot care by Shawn Bearden of Science of Ultra website and podcast. Here’s the link to the Science of Ultra website. Shawn asked great questions and got deeper into foot care than any other interview I have done. We talked about the essential components of good foot care, from shoe fitting to blister care. Then we wrap it up by defining the essential features of a good minimalist foot care kit for your next run or adventure. The whole episode is about an …

Oct 16, 2015 · by John · In: blister care, Foot Care, Footcare, Health Tagged: Backpacker Magazine, bil vandergraff, blister care, Foot Care, self care

My October issue of Backpacker magazine featured an article about Bil Vandergraff, a Search and Rescue (SAR) Ranger. He served as a ranger for 25 years in the Grand Canyon backcountry. In the article he shared tips on surviving in the backcountry – especially in the harsh and unforgiving Grand Canyon with its heat and extreme elevation changes. His tips on dealing with the heat are right on: wear the right clothes, embrace the sweat, go slow, stick to mornings and evenings, and know when to …

Sep 6, 2015 · by John · In: blister care, Foot Care, Sports Tagged: Adventure Race, blister care, foot blisters, Foot Care, primal quest

The 2015 Primal Quest Expedition Adventure Race concluded a few days ago, after nine days of challenges to the 11 four person teams. This was an unsupported race, meaning there was no crew support. Race organizers, medical staff, and general volunteers all worked together to provide levels of support that were awe-inspiring. People worked together to help the racers get through over 400 miles of a variety of disciplines: trekking, orienteering, white water kayaking and rafting, mountain biking …

Aug 13, 2015 · by John · In: blister care, Foot Care, Foot Care Products, Footcare, Footwear, Footwear Products, Health, Sports, toenails Tagged: blister prevention, Foot Care, maceration, primal quest

The seven tips below are written for the Primal Quest Expedition Adventure Race starting next week. They are also applicable to any race you may have coming up. Primal Quest is less than two weeks away and here are seven things you can do to improve your chances of finishing with healthy feet. 1. Wear the best fitting shoes you can. Have a bit of space in front of your longest toe and enough height in the shoe’s toe box to avoid squishing the toes from the top. 2. Bad toenail care can …

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