Anyone Do Walking /Running Marathons or Long Treks

[Gad]

My son is doing the Kokoda Challenge 96km Trek this year (July) his group estimates they can do it in a 27-29 hr time.

Working on the fact that a main cause of blisters is a combination of friction, heat and moisture/sweating,I`m trying to work out what may be the most effective preventative measure for the lads feet.

Question 1… What i`m chasing up is info, from anyone who is into these type of self inflicted pain pastimes, with regards to the pros` and cons` of taping the individual toes and ankles/heels and/or using some form of lubricant on the feet (Vaseline,Lanolin, or runners lubricant sticks etc) to act as a preventative to minimise friction and thereby lower the risk of hot spots and blistering.

Ok, the only thing I`m 100% sure on, is he will need many pairs of socks and many extra pairs on top of that!

I am aware that, where materials are concerned, cotton, whether it be the whole sock, liner or double layered with some cotton in there, retains water/perspiration, and helps keep feet moist and soft and with heat build up,along with friction greatly increases the likelihood of blistering.

Cotton is also a rougher material and can have a rasping effect on the feet over long distances.

Question 2… Do double layer woollen socks or wool blended double layered socks, have an efficient wicking process.

Also with some of these doubled layered woollen socks, what is the ‘copper toe and heels’ about.

cheers

[Gary_C]

I can help a bit with Question 2.

Wool and wool blend socks are fairly efficient at moisture wicking. Other natural fibers that are considered efficient for wicking are bamboo and coconut fibers.

I would suggest synthetic materials like polyester and acrylic though as they are specifically designed for it. I tend to stick to the Under Armor brand, but I've heard good things about the CoolMax brand too.

[mottly crew]

my misses said there are some sort of jel pad that some chic used on her around aussie walk that took three months not sure what there called but she said there not cheap and they are used to when the blisster has appeared and helps cushion the blisster

[daveylad]

HAs he got the boots he will be walking in?, if not get them now and get them well worn in getting them wet several times whilst wearing them, I do walks and have done some of the legs of the Great walk up here on the sunny coast, I wear cotton socks a good pair over $30 and I wear them inside out as the seams are on the inside so turning them inside out keeps the seams away from the skin. also get them worn in. I would just take about 3 or 4 extra pairs for the stopovers have the boots treated for water and look for a good repellant for them. I would personally only use plaster for rubbed skin but its something I have never really suffered from even through my Army time. You can get some good sprays for the feet to help with moisture but using vaslelines and lubricates would to me be the wrong thing as it would only casue movement which causes friction...Blisters. Good Socks and Good worn in Boots

[regulated]

Mate we used to do some big marches and if he doesn't have a worn in set of boots now you had better get onto it very quickly. I agree with Davey about the friction comment.From the blisters I got it occurred where there was movement. If you do strap feet get someone who knows what there doing to do it. If its strapped wrong it will cause other problems.

We used to train for ages to condition for long marches. Pain will come in at 1-2hr mark but once your feet are numb its all in the head. Anything he wears has to be worn in, do not get new socks, boots or clothing he is not used to as there will be chaffing and blisters everywhere. What ever he is going to wear get out and try it now and it has to be a good walk wear everything gets drenched because its the wet spots that cause the problems.

Good innersoles will really make it a lot more comfortable. I used to have gel ones but the gel sort of clumped but what ever he is comfortable is the go.

BJ

[ellicat]

Gad, My eldest has done The Kokoda Challenge twice and will be doing it for the third time this year.

Chaffing between the bottom cheeks was a prominent complaint from all 4 in his group. (Mitch was banned by the teacher from administering first aid after accidentally giving a mate Deep Heat :woohoo: ...they retrieved the kid from the top of a tree some hours later hahaha)

I'll ask him what his methods were again as he was the least effected of his group. I do remember the Vaso got a good run. He wore some quality sandshoes, skins, shorts, etc (I'll let you know)

Are you running as part of a support crew ?

[Jords]

Gad, My eldest has done The Kokoda Challenge twice and will be doing it for the third time this year.

Chaffing between the bottom cheeks was a prominent complaint from all 4 in his group. (Mitch was banned by the teacher from administering first aid after accidentally giving a mate Deep Heat :woohoo: ...they retrieved the kid from the top of a tree some hours later hahaha)

I'll ask him what his methods were again as he was the least effected of his group. I do remember the Vaso got a good run. He wore some quality sandshoes, skins, shorts, etc (I'll let you know)

Are you running as part of a support crew ?

YEah we did our last big hike today, got some monster hooch and bum chafe.

Anyway gory bits aside, what we've been told is toe taping etc. is only a good idea if you trained by doing it. Shoe wise, wear them 24/7 is my best tip, been wearing my hedgehogs everywhere. And apparently 6 pairs is the go (one per major pit stop I suppose?)

and make sure you grab some compeer blister patches - those things save lives. Alternative, strapping tape and gauze does the job

[regulated]

Shoe wise, wear them 24/7 is my best tip, been wearing my hedgehogs everywhere. And apparently 6 pairs is the go (one per major pit stop I suppose?)

and make sure you grab some compeer blister patches - those things save lives. Alternative, strapping tape and gauze does the job

We used to only have one set of bush boots, used to wear them for months out bush. Each pair of boots can wear differently and once you get a problem it will only get worse. Used to have fresh socks but. If you have time to wear all of them in and are used to them all it may be ok.

Something we did when I first started was soaking your feet in condies crystals, apparently toughens up the skin. Don't know if they still do that but.

After the hikes any blisters that had not popped were injected with betadine, Seemed to fix them up a lot quicker.

[shortie]

Kids these days are soft

I would of done it bare foot

But bum chaff or galloping crotch rot is another story

You have never experienced real pain till your a fat man with crotch rot

[fishingnut]

Get a product called 3b it is a miracle cure for arse rot, the bloke who invented that gear should be knighted !!!

[faulked]

the pushbike shops sell anti chaff cream for the butt its magic in a tube

i swear by explorer socks i like the copper or bamboo but all their products are good even the thick woolen ones work well in a hot summer i hardly ever get any foot problems and i regulaly walk in excess of 20km every day pushing a mower in summer in winter i do hardly anything

if you have wide feet i can recomend oliver boots they seem to be the widdest fitting boot

i tried the double socks the "anti blister" variety every time i wore them i got a blister ?

ive recently tried lycra shorts and socks for pushbike riding and they seem very very good

good luck on kokoda id love to do it one day

real aussie men would do it barefoot in rags though

[Gad]

Thanks every one for the feed back.

Gary_C.. all things may be on par re wicking, natural fibre, synthetic blends, Coolmax,CoolMesh, etc, so the lad can go for personal preference tomorrow and take a guess,and start wearing them to find out suitability.

Mottlycrew.. the lad will have a supply kit of Blister Heel Blocks and an assortment of suitable tape, adhesive pads,plasters etc.

Daveylad.. he has been wearing in 2 pairs of quality hiking ½ boots over the last couple of months and has his preferred inner soles. He and his group have been doing 4/5/6 hr hikes up and around the Mt. Cootha trails and a couple of 8hr hikes in and around the hilly GC hinterland, along with a couple of night time treks.

Regulated.. also as above. Metho bathed on the soles of the feet was an old time way of hardening them up.

The idea behind some type of lubricant on the feet is that the lubricant acts like a mild (for want of a better word) adhesive, so the sock and the foot sticks together and eliminates the movement/friction/rubbing between the two.

e-cat… re chaffing, Vaseline/petroleum Jelly or baby nappy change grease, also for the arm pits. if they wear the ‘skins’ type garments, wear them as a wedgee, ( Steve Urkel style) lubricant helps stop the butts sweating and rubbing.If they apply their choice of goo, from the start and keep applying it at support stops, it should help, and an added bonus is they wont know for sure if it was liquidy squelch or wind they passed. :pinch:

support crew.. uncommitted at the moment,my night time medication, may not be conducive to “actual supportâ€, as the night goes on

deep heat.. my eyes are watering from pmsl

Jords… the simple rule with any type of taping/strapping used as a support on areas that move is.. if you tape/strap it and it`s creased/wrinkled,strip it off and re-do it smooth. I do agree that if you do not have strapping experience,don`t do it.

Matt also had his final work out trek yesterday, started 6.30pm yesterday and finished at the start point at 2.15 this morning.

Shortie.. soft kids.. if they wanted to toughen these kids up they could insist that their hair is permed,they wear a lap lap and they go bare foot as albino fuzzy wuzzys`, thereby getting a local PNGs` Kokoda experience.. :evil:

fishingnut.. cheers, I`m guessing the 3b is for shortie and not for the overnight trekkers

faulked... cheers at this stage he is still deciding between anti-chaff creams, Vaseline and a couple of others options.