North Coast 24 Hour Run Happy Feet Update

Now that the dust has settled and our Drymax athletes had a chance to rest we are now hearing how their feet felt after this last weekend's 24 Hour National Championships in Cleveland Ohio:

Jill Perry's Feet Immediately After 24 Hours Of Running

From Jill Perry, 2009 24 Hour Women's National Champion, "Look Ma! No Blisters! Thank you so much Bob, for your support, for the socks. I'll have to say, I openly advertised how my feet were doing great and many of the 24 hour participants wanted to know what I wore! In an event like this, running round and round on some hard asphalt...it makes it very important to have good coverage for the feet. And another true test...once again, no blisters! Thank you so much! I know your socks made my feet happy and made a difference in my race. "

Dan Rose 24 Hour National Team Member

From Dan Rose, 3rd Overall Newest Member of the 2010 USA National 24 Hour Team, "As always, my Drymax Max Pros kept me blister and hot-spot free for all 139 miles. Didn't think of my feet once during the race. Thanks for helping me make the National Team!!"

Debra Horn on her way to a 12 hour USA Record

From Debra Horn 3rd Woman new age group 12 Hour National Record Holder, "A special THANKS to my socks sponsor, DryMax socks. I only changed my DryMax socks once during the race and had no problems with blisters."

Congratulations to all who participated in the event. We were very honored to be involved as the sock sponsor of the event and on the feet of so many of those who competed.

photos provided by Jill Perry, Dan Rose & Debra Horn

Jill Perry USA 24 Hour National Champion!

Congratulations to Drymax athlete Jill Perry for her spectacular National Championship performance at the North Coast 24 Hour Run taking place on the banks of Lake Erie in Cleveland, Ohio. Jill was able to complete an amazing 136.01325 miles in 23 hours, 56 minutes, 06.05 seconds.

Jill battled with Ultra Legend Connie Gardner for most of the race pulling away in the later stages of the race. The dominating victory qualifies Jill to be the on the US National 24 Hour Team. Her eventual margin of victory was over 4.5 miles over 2nd place Anna Piskorska. Jill finished an impressive 5th overall.

Other great performances by Drymax athletes include a 3rd place by Debra Horn completing 128.80725 miles and winning her age division. Debra was able to reach 72.96 miles in 12 hours setting a new American Record for her age division (50-54).

Another fabulous result belonged to Dan Rose who finished 3rd overall with 138.71550 missing out on a 2nd by 37.5 seconds behind another ultra legend John Geesler. Dan's story is even more impressive because it wasn't too long ago that he was battling cancer today he is an elite ultrarunner who just reached his longtime goal of making the US National 24 Hour Team. Great job Dan!

It was a wonderful weekend for all involved and we were very excited to be represented at the event by some wonderful athletes. We were also very proud to be the sock sponsor for the race.

Lisa Bliss' Blister Free Spartathlon Redemption

Lisa Bliss Immediately After Running 153 Miles

Drymax is very fortunate to have some of the elite of the elite ultrarunners competing in Drymax socks but the very first elite ultra runner to trust us with their feet is Lisa Bliss. The 2007 Badwater champion continually faced blister issues for many years. A friend gave her some Drymax socks to try and she became an immediate convert and has been competing in Drymax ever since.

Lisa has continually given us constructive feedback on our socks offering unique perspective from not only her athletic but her medical background during her wear testing that has only served to provide newer and better generations of Drymax socks.

This last week Lisa returned to the 153 Mile Spartathlon race in Greece for some redemption. Due to a chronic ankle injury Lisa was unable to complete the race in 2008. This year Lisa was able to not only complete the race but take 3rd woman and 1st overall American in a time of 32 hours 23 minutes.

I just received the following note from Lisa along with attached photos regarding how her feet felt after completing the race:

Hi Bob,

As you've seen, I placed 3rd woman overall at the Spartathlon! I am so happy with my race.

Drymax performed superbly as usual. I changed my socks just once and that was at the base of the mountain at 100 miles where I put on an ankle brace. Since I was already taking off my shoes, I decided to change socks too. A quick glance at my feet at that moment filled me with joy as they looked perfect, like I hadn't even run a mile.

So, despite the 153 mile distance, heat, and 30 miles of torrential rain to the finish that soaked me to the bone, I had not ONE SINGLE BLISTER! Not even a hot spot! I am so pleased with Drymax and how well they performed.

Every runner that kisses the foot of King Leonidas at the finish line is personally escorted to the medical tent where doctors and nurses evaluate you to make sure you are ok. They take off your shoes and wash your feet in a basin of cool water. They were amazed that my feet looked so good!

Thank you for making ultrarunning simpler for me, as I have only to focus on my running. The relief of not having to worry about blisters is liberating.

Here are some pictures. The foot picture in the medical tent where you can see my face is from Glenn Tachiyama, and the other two, which were taken back at the hotel, are from Tim Englund.

All the best

Lisa Bliss

photos provided by Lisa Bliss