FOOT CARE FOR RUNNERS, WALKERS, RUCKERS

YESTERDAY'S POST ABOUT RUCK WALKING INCLUDED INFORMATION ON INJURIES incurred during the enjoyment of this sport. The most commonly reported problem, according to the research articles that were reviewed, was blisters. I had not considered a blister an injury before reading these papers! Weren't they a fact of life for runners? Something to be accepted as a condition of running? Wouldn't this also be true for walking and marching?

It took several weeks to gather information for and write the rucking post, so there was time to think about this and investigate a bit. Just as with the topic of rucking, once blisters caught my attention, advice about prevention and general foot care for runners seemed to pop up everywhere. I confess that it was a part of running health that, In retrospect, I was uneducated. I was taking the opposite approach to what I now see has been recommended by experts in terms of keeping feet soft and moisturized, and getting pedicures. It's true that in running, like other areas of life, there's always one more thing to learn!

Hal Higdon, a lifelong runner and a longtime contributor to Runner's World wrote a comprehensive article for the online magazine in September 2007, " Care For Your Feet", which incorporates most of the advice I found presented elsewhere. He covers the usual topics like fitting, maintaining, and replacing running shoes, AND others that are not-so-common, like choice of non-running shoes, skin care, massage techniques, cooling after runs, reflexology, and foot strength.

With summer coming up, this is the perfect time to take steps to keep feet happy and healthy, such that wearing sandals and going sock-less when not running can be fully enjoyed!

RUN, WALK, AND RUCK HAPPY!

http://www.runnersworld.com/health/care-for-your-feet

For more http://www.runnersworld.com/person/hal-higdon