Rain during Ultras

Tony said:

- Vaseline liberally the entire foot
- Use gore-tex socks over regular socks and duct tape around the top to
prevent rain from dripping down the legs into the top (tried this without
the duct tape and after 45 mins the rain had dripped in and also I think the
feet sweated a great deal, so feet were getting wet already)

Have you considered trying merino wool socks ?

I usually wear these in cold wet weather, because they insulate well. However,
I've also noticed that they stay relatively "dry" even when wet.

I've also posted and read about the "wet feet" issue, and like you, no-one (
well, as far as prior posts indicate anyway) has been able to achieve more than
a few dry minutes by attempting to a "keep the water out" solution.

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi
http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~elflord/

Tony wrote:

My runs are still pretty short, but problems with wet feet is something
I've been anticipating and haven't solved yet either.

Quoted message said:

Surprisingly, the book "fixing your feet" 2nd ed, does not cover wet feet
very well. I know that even very experienced adventure racers are sometimes
forced to stop because of trenchfoot - namely John Howard. Some of the
idea's I've considered but have been unable to fully test so far are:

- Vaseline liberally the entire foot

I've found vaseline may work for a couple hours, but it makes my feet
soft - a problem with vaseline which was commented on in Fixing Your
Feet (not sure which version, but not the most recent). I was
considering re-applying every couple hours (a pain). But I
confirmed a hypothesis recently - grit will get in through mesh of shoe
and gets embedded in the vaseline - a real potential for foot problems.
I couldn't even get it washed off in shower. Of course, if it's raining,
there probably wouldn't be the powdered dust that we've had so much this
year (really dry), but it's still an issue.

Quoted message said:

- Use gore-tex socks over regular socks and duct tape around the top to
prevent rain from dripping down the legs into the top (tried this without
the duct tape and after 45 mins the rain had dripped in and also I think the
feet sweated a great deal, so feet were getting wet already)

You might try Sealskinz - one of their styles has a seal at top designed
for river crossings. Neoprene socks are suggested for some of the winter
races here - at least in gear, but I think most use wool socks, probably
SmartWool. But I think most of the comments I've heard are that feet get
wet from sweat in the "waterproof/breathable" socks and result in
blisters. However, I think Sealskinz worked for at least one person that
posted somewhere. All of these types of socks tend not to fit quite like
regular socks.

Some comments from this year's Hard Rock (wet feet for 48+ hours): Some
people got by with SmartWool socks, others used Desitin (a stronger zinc
oxide cream, apparently), and probably a whole lot of other things that
worked or not. I'm going to give Desitin a try sometime because of the
comments I've seen for it.

Dot

Dot <dot.h@#duh?att.net> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Tony wrote:

My runs are still pretty short, but problems with wet feet is something
I've been anticipating and haven't solved yet either.

Quoted message said:

Surprisingly, the book "fixing your feet" 2nd ed, does not cover wet feet
very well. I know that even very experienced adventure racers are sometimes
forced to stop because of trenchfoot - namely John Howard. Some of the
idea's I've considered but have been unable to fully test so far are:

- Vaseline liberally the entire foot

I've found vaseline may work for a couple hours, but it makes my feet
soft - a problem with vaseline which was commented on in Fixing Your
Feet (not sure which version, but not the most recent). I was
considering re-applying every couple hours (a pain). But I
confirmed a hypothesis recently - grit will get in through mesh of shoe
and gets embedded in the vaseline - a real potential for foot problems.
I couldn't even get it washed off in shower. Of course, if it's raining,
there probably wouldn't be the powdered dust that we've had so much this
year (really dry), but it's still an issue.

Quoted message said:

- Use gore-tex socks over regular socks and duct tape around the top to
prevent rain from dripping down the legs into the top (tried this without
the duct tape and after 45 mins the rain had dripped in and also I think the
feet sweated a great deal, so feet were getting wet already)

You might try Sealskinz - one of their styles has a seal at top designed
for river crossings. Neoprene socks are suggested for some of the winter
races here - at least in gear, but I think most use wool socks, probably
SmartWool. But I think most of the comments I've heard are that feet get
wet from sweat in the "waterproof/breathable" socks and result in
blisters. However, I think Sealskinz worked for at least one person that
posted somewhere. All of these types of socks tend not to fit quite like
regular socks.

Some comments from this year's Hard Rock (wet feet for 48+ hours): Some
people got by with SmartWool socks, others used Desitin (a stronger zinc
oxide cream, apparently), and probably a whole lot of other things that
worked or not. I'm going to give Desitin a try sometime because of the
comments I've seen for it.

Dot

I'm definitely not an ultra runner, but I have considered the crusade
for dry feet for a while.

I surveyed rivers for two years and we spent a lot of summers in
shorts and some sort of "waterproof foot gear".

Neoprene socks with duct tape around the top will keep the rain out.
You want to get the thinnest weight (1 mL) you can so that your feet
will not sweat too much. The secret is to wear something underneath
the sock so you can keep the trapped in sweat away from your skin.

I go for seamless hiking "liner socks" which are super-wicking
followed by the lightest weight Smart Wool socks you can find. Also,
cheap, thin wool dress socks work well (as long as the liner protects
your feet from the itchiness). I found my favorite pair of liners in
a bin at an Army Surplus store so I don't have a good name brand for
those.

Most folks that do the AP and the PCT do so in running shoes. A 18
yr. old friend that finished the AP would simply change shoes from
running shoes to Chacos 2 or 3 times a day and let the other pair "air
out" on or in her pack.

Like I said, not sure how much of this is relevant...but I thought I'd
toss in my $.02.