gaiters Archives - Fixing Your Feet

Jun 12, 2015 · by John · In: blister care, Foot Care, Foot Care Products, Footcare, Footwear, Footwear Products Tagged: gaiters, jay batchen, Lisa de Speville, rough country gaiters, shoe gaiters, Tahoe Rim Trail 100, Western States 100

Many runners have a love-hate relationship with gaiters. Some love them and swear by them when running trails. Others never wear them, and dislike them. Which camp do you fall in? I have regularly promoted the value of gaiters since I made my first homemade set from a pair of old white cotton crew socks. I believe it was one of the first years I ran Western States, maybe in 1985 or 86. I cut the foot out of the socks, leaving the ankle part to pull on my foot and fold over to cover the top of …

Apr 4, 2013 · by John · In: blister care, Foot Care, Health, Sports, toenails Tagged: Asics Gel, blisters, Foot Care, Fuji, gaiters, Half Size, Inaugural Event, inov-8, Johannesburg South Africa, Lisa de Speville, little toe triangle, minimalist shoes, Namib Desert, Pancake, Race Shoes, Road Shoes, running shoes, Shoe Sizes, Soles, Supernova, toe blisters, toe nail blisters, trail shoes, triangle toes, Velcro, Warmth

Lisa de Speville, who lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, is a close friend who often emails with insights on blisters and foot care. Yesterday I received the following email and asked whether I could share it with my readers. Her email contains insights on little toe blisters, issues with minimalist shoes, and fit of shoes modified with gaiters. Here's her email. Last week I ran in the 5th edition of the Namib Desert Challenge. I had the pleasure of running in their inaugural event back in …

Jun 17, 2012 · by John · In: blister care, Foot Care, Sports Tagged: Athlete Foot, Athlete S Foot, Band-Aids, blisters, calluses, Emt, Fixing Your Feet, Foot Care, Footcare, gaiters, Holes, hot spots, Limited Supplies, lubricant, Medical Person, Mile Races, Miracle, podiatrist, Runners, socks, vaseline, Western States

Lets talk about expectations for foot care at races. I like this subject because being prepared is important. It can make my work easier and likewise that of everyone helping with medical and foot care at races. This coming weekend is Western States and there will be a lot of runners needing help with their feet. Over the years I have seen everything at 100-mile races. Runners with holes in their socks or socks so worn you can see through the material, severe Athlete’s Foot, long and untrimmed …

May 3, 2012 · by John · In: Foot Care, Footwear Tagged: blisters, Dirt, Disclosure, feet, Foot Care, footwear companies, friction, Gaiter, gaiters, hot spots, Link Caption, Mesh Material, mesh shoe uppers, Minute Particles, non-mesh shoe uppers, Pairs, Rei Store, Salomon Shoes, Shoe Uppers, socks, Stuff, Trail Runners

Last month I was at my local REI store to conduct a clinic on foot care. At the same time, they held a footwear festival, which had eight footwear companies represented. I noted something about some of the shoes that is valuable to know if you are shopping for shoes. Specifically, the materials of the shoe’s upper. I have two photos to share with you. The shoes in these photos are made by Salomon. In fair disclosure, I have several pairs of Salomon shoes that I received as swag for working …

Jan 6, 2012 · by John · In: Foot Care, Foot Care Products, Footwear Products Tagged: Absolutes, Advocate, Bottom Edge, Country Model, Desert Environment, Dirt, Dream Chaser, dream chaser events, Elastic Cord, eric lahaie, Gaiter, gaiters, Hook, Marathon Des Sables, mesh, Metal Eyelet, Nine Times, racing the planet, Rough Country, rough country gaiters, Seam, shape, Typical Design, Velcro

For years I have been a strong advocate for gaiters if you are doing trails. In fact, it has been one of my “absolutes” – things I believe you must do. This post is a review of the Rough Country Gaiters. Most gaiters follow the same design. They cover the top of the shoe and go up to the top of the ankle. The benefit of Rough Country Gaiters over the typical design is how they cover from the top of the ankle to the bottom of the shoe. The beauty of this design is how they cover the shoe’s …

Jun 20, 2010 · by John · In: Foot Care, Foot Care Products, Footwear Products Tagged: 4 desert gaiter, gaiters, mesh, racing the planet, running shoes

Footwear made with mesh is lightweight and many trail shoes use it liberally. Your shoes may be lighter and cooler, but the mesh allows junk to get inside the shoe. It then can increase friction. Whether or not you wear gaiters, if you are running trails a lot, try to use shoes that don't have too much mesh. The mesh allows trail dust, grit, sand and other debris to get inside your shoes where it gets under your insoles, into your socks, and onto your feet. This "trail junk," along with the …

Jan 26, 2010 · by John · In: blister care, Foot Care, Foot Care Products Tagged: blisters, Foot Care, gaiters, home-made gaiters, Lisa de Speville, toe blisters

Lisa de Speville, an adventure racer and ultrarunner from Johannesburg, South Africa, and a friend, sends me updates every so often. I value her input because she is good at thinking through problems. I received this in an email in December and decided to share it with you because it is a great example of how to critically think through the cause of your blisters. Lisa wrote: Here's a delicious picture of a common blister. Nice and big and hadn't popped yet ;) - on my teammate's little toe. …

Jul 3, 2009 · by John · In: Footwear Tagged: blisters, dirty feet, gaiters, running shoes, trail shoes

Lightweight, breathable, flexible, gripping, durable, and stable are a few words that describe today's trail shoes. By far, today's shoes are better then shoes of years ago. Technology has made great strides in how shoes are designed and made. I love all the above features. They're good. Trail runners have it made. Almost. Last weekend I patched feet at the Western and I quickly realized many trail shoes have a huge flaw. Let me qualify my statement. When I look at footwear, my view is that of …

Oct 14, 2007 · by John · In: Footcare, Footwear, Health, Sports Tagged: dirty girl gaiters, Foot Care, Footcare, gaiters, trail gaiters

Yesterday I worked the Bort Meadows aid station at the Dick Collins Firetrails 50 Mile Run and Golden Hills Marathon. There were 244 runners in the 50-miler and about 114 in the marathon. All day I watched the runners come through the aid station. They ate some food and refilled their water bottles. The weather was great, but we had had a lot of rain the day before. The trails had drained well and I saw only a few muddy shoes. But as usual, I saw a lot of dirty shoes and socks. I especially …

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Oct 19, 2005 · by John · In: Footcare, Footwear, Health, Sports Tagged: foot wear, Footwear, gaiters, shoe, shoes

Whether you are an adventure racer, a simple short-distance trail runner, a hiker, or an ultrarunner, you owe it to yourselves to cover all your bases, and figuratively speaking, to cover your socks and shoes with gaiters. Homemade Gaiters Homemade Gaiters can be easily made for running shoes or boots out of a pair of regular white crew socks. Pull the socks on your feet and with a scissors, cut the socks around the foot at the top of the shoe line. Toss out the foot portions. Fold the top …

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