Brazil 135 Competitors Krogmann and Portera And Their Race Feet

Tony Portera's Blister Free Feet After 135 Wet Miles

Drymax athletes Brian Krogmann who finished the the Brazil 135 in 3rd overall with a time of 30:14 and Tony Portera who finished in a time of 53:31 both have some great stories and memorable experiences from their epic journey in South America.

About their feet and experience with Drymax socks during their race here is their candid feedback:

Brian Krogmann stated, "I started out with the Lite Trail Running socks and could have went the entire distance with them but after running through the monsoon the crew wanted me to change shoes so they decided to change my socks. They were in too much of a hurry that they put on the Max Pro sock and ran in that for a little while before I hit mile 109 and at the last check in the crew wanted to change my shoes again so they change my socks as well to the Trail Running v4.... I ended with a small blister on my left toe but that was it. Could not even feel it until the last 1/2 mile when we had to run on the cobblestone to finish. Even through the monsoon and all the mud my feet were dry and had no complaints. The other runners were impressed with the socks and how my feet were at the end of the race!"

Tony Portera stated, "I had a solid blister prevention strategy for dealing with the elements in Brazil. First, I stuck to what has worked for the last year plus, Drymax Socks. Specifically, I went with the Maximum Protecion Running Socks, changing them several times throughout the 135 miles (about 4 changes). Despite the heat and humidity, torrential and persistent rain (at times), and mud my feet held up just fine, not once experiencing any issues with blisters or hot spots." Check out Tony's experiences at his website http://www.irunultras.com/

We were very proud to be along for this epic race on these and other American runners in Brazil. Different Drymax athletes will be going back to South American this week to compete in Patagonia... More on this in a day or too.

photo provided by Tony Portera

AJW and Donaldson Tune Up At Ghost Town 38.5

Drymax athletes Andy Jones-Wilkins and Jamie Donaldson completed a successful warm up trip to the Land of Enchantment turning in very sold performances in the Ghost Town 38.5. Both are 100 mile specialists but they turned in some very impressive times and finishing positions.

AJW turned in a time of 5:19:34 that was good enough for a second overall and was 1:30 faster than his already quick time from last year. Jamie came in with a time of 6:13:12 good enough for second woman and eighth overall.

Jamie's Feet immediately after the 38.5 mile race

Both Jamie and AJW were doing the final testing for our soon to be released Maximum Protection Trail Socks. About the test AJW stated, "The Max Pro Trail socks were outstanding! I wore them with a pair of La Sportiva Crosslites. The course was very dry so my feet did not get wet. The socks were quite comfortable, well cushioned and seemed to stay still in the shoe. My feet held up quite well with the socks and I was able to ski all day yesterday with no foot issues at all (and I was wearing DryMax ski socks.)"

Jamie added, "Happy feet after wearing Drymax Maximum Protection prototype trail sock and no blisters!"

photos provided by Jamie Donaldson

Drymax Athletes Perry & Terranova Win Bandera 50k & 100k

Drymax athletes Meredith Terranova and Jill Perry covered the women's field at the 2010 Bandera 50k and 100k races in Texas.

Terranova won the 50k event by over five minutes in a smokin' time of 5:04:54 over second place runner Jean Herbert. Meredith's husband Paul, also wearing Drymax socks took 2nd place overall in the 50k with a time of 4:14:31.

Jill Perry shared the victory with fellow elite runner Aliza Lapierre in a course record time of 10:33:18.

About her feet Jill said, "My feet were blister free, even going through the rocky terrain, the cold to warm weather. I wore the trail socks (grey and orange) and felt awesome!"

Meredith continued, "It was a crazy cold weekend. The coldest weather that Texas has had in 14 years!!! I have gotten so spoiled with no blisters... I don't even blister when they have grit in them. I LOVE it!!! Thank you." Meredith wears the Drymax Hot Weather sock even in cold weather.

Both Meredith and Jill will be competing in this year's Western States 100. It will certainly be an exciting race!

Drymax Athlete Mattek-Sands To Face Williams Sisters In Australian Open

Bethanie Mattek-Sands wearing Drymax Black Over The Calf Hockey Socks

UPDATE: Bethanie and her partner Zi Yan have just completed their Quarterfinal match against Venus and Serena Williams in memorable style. The pair of Mattek-Sands and Yan proved to be formidable pushing the seemingly indestructable Williams sisters to a third set for the first time in the tournament but the Williams duo proved too strong today eventually topping the #8 seeds 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. Congratulations Bethanie on such a wonderful performance.

Drymax athlete and WTA Professional Tennis Player Bethanie Mattek-Sands will be taking her elite tennis game to the quarterfinals in the Australian Open with her doubles partner Zi Yan (China) to face Venus and Serena Williams in the Quarterfinals.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands Wearing Drymax White Over The Calf Hockey Socks

The Mattek-Sands/Yan duo has sliced their way through an incredible field to get to the quarterfinals most recently defeating Elena Vesnina and Jie Zheng 6-4/6-4 and previously defeating the duo of Jelena Jankovic and Shenay Perry.

Bethanie has been wearing Drymax socks with great success for over two years. Most recently she has not only been wearing our Tennis Socks but our over the calf Hockey Socks. Ultrarunning has given us a wonderful perspective on the performance needed to eliminate blisters but Bethanie's additional input has given us a fresh perspective on the performance needed to perform well in sports with lateral movement as well. She has had zero blister issues since making the switch to Drymax socks.

Great job Bethanie!

Brian Krogmann Takes Impressive 3rd In Brazil 135

We've been following the impressive performance of Drymax athlete Brian Krogmann from the Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City. It appears from the timing page that Brian has taken an impressive 3rd place in some amazing world class competition. His unofficial time of 30:14 was only five minutes behind 2nd place Brazilian 135 veteran Adao Miranda and a little over two hours behind first place Adilson Ligeirinho from Brazil. Congratulations Brian for a wonderful performance!!! More details to come...

Photo by Bob MacGillivray

Drymax Hockey Socks Have Arrived!

That's right, Drymax is now making Hockey Socks! After much research, development and wear testing we are finally able to release our Hockey Socks in two heights (crew and over the calf) two weights (regular weight and lite mesh) and two colors (black and white).

For many years professional and amateur hockey players have been struggling with their feet. Changing socks after every period or getting so frustrated with their socks that many players don't wear them at all.

Drymax is uniquely suited to hockey because our socks keep feet drier than any other sock, they are also very abrasion resistant providing a very durable sock. This coupled with our silver antimicrobial that never washes out and other standard features creates a perfect fit for the Hockey market.

Initially, iconic hockey retailers Player's Bench (eight locations in three states and their website http://www.playersbench.com/ ) and Bob Perani's (18 locations in five states + Canada) have already begun selling these socks. www.IceWarehouse.com as well as www.Inlinewarehouse.com will be adding them to their respective websites in the coming weeks. For more outlets check our our website http://www.drymaxsocks.com/ .

The input given to us by some professional hockey players along with our hardworking ultra athletes have come together to create what we feel is the ultimate hockey sock.

Keep an eye open for American WTA Tennis Player Bethanie Mattek-Sands at this year's Australian Open where she will be wearing our Over the Calf Lite Mesh Drymax Hockey Socks in select matches!

Stay tuned for some additional socks soon!

photo by Bob MacGillivray

Drymax Gets Some Good Canadian Press

It is cold in Canada and that's where Drymax socks are best put to the test. Canadian Chatelaine Magazine loves Drymax Cold Weather Socks and featured them in their In brief section of their February 2010 issue. ($19.00 per pair is Canadian).

Drymax Athletes Make Strong Showing In Ultrarunner of the Year Voting

We are very pleased and excited to have some of the best ultrarunners in the world competing in Drymax socks. This year was a banner year for our athletes and some of them received some well deserved credit from UltraRunning Magazine.

Jamie Donaldson

Drymax team captain Jamie Donaldson took the runner up spot for the second year in a row in the voting for Women's Ultrarunner of the Year receiving 171 votes finishing behind the amazing Kami Semik and ahead of ultra superstar Krissy Moehl in third.

Jamie had an amazing 2009:
Winner Rocky Raccoon 100 - 1st Female, 3rd Overall 16 hours 51 Minutes
Winner Delano Park 12 Hour Run - 1st Overall, 1st Female Course Record 78 Miles
24 Hour World Championships-Italy -1st American Overall 4th Female, 136.83 Miles
Winner The North Face 50 Mile Bellingham, WA - 1st Female, 9 hours 42 minutes
Winner 135 Mile Badwater Ultramarathon - 1st Female, 5th Overall 27 hours 20 minutes
Runner-Up Leadville 100 Mile - 2nd Female, 21 hours 53 minutes
Winner Self-Transcendence 24 Hour Canada- 1st Overall, 1st Woman 133 Miles
Broke 18 Year old 200,000 Meter (200 km) USATF Record - 21 hours 1 minute

Andy Jones-Wilkins and Karl Meltzer

Karl Melzter wore Drymax socks during his 2009 campaign where he earned the honor of runner up in the men's voting behind Geoff Roes. His five 100 Mile victories including his domination at the 2009 Hardrock 100 further sets him apart as a legend in Ultrarunning.

Other Drymax athletes noted in the voting include Suzanna Bon, Jill Perry, Christine Crawford, Brian Krogmann, Kevin Sullivan and Andy Jones-Wilkins.

Performance of the year mentions included Karl Meltzer's Hardrock 100 & Bighorn 100, Jamie Donaldson's IAU 24 Hour World Championship performance & Rocky Raccoon 100, Jill Perry's record breaking Umstead 100, Suzanna Bon's San Diego 100 Mile & San Francisco One Day 24 Hour.

It is an honor to be associated with these fine athletes and to be trusted to be on their feet during their amazing adventures!

Check out the article: http://www.ultrarunning.com/ultra/features/news/semick-roes-named-2009-ru.shtml

photos courtesy Jamie Donaldson and Hard Rock 100

Drymax TrailRunning Socks Gear Junkie Top 10

Each year, Stephen Reginold, The Gear Junkie assembles a list of the "best-of-the-best" from new and prototype products that he has reviewed for his website and many national syndicated columns. He uses his domestic and international outdoor experiences to test all kinds of new products putting them to the ultimate test and a few stand out from all of the rest.

It is with great pride and excitement that Drymax Trailrunning socks have been selected to be one of the Year's Best 10 Items by The Gear Junkie coming in at #6. Drymax is the only sock selected and one of only 2 footwear items on the list.

Check it out:

#1. The North Face Animagi Jacket
#2. New Balance Burnout Tee

#3. Wabi Cycles Lightning Bike

#4. Vasa Kayak Ergometer

#5. INOV8 Roclite 288 GTX

#6. Drymax Trail Running Socks

#7. Castelli Sottile Cycling Jacket

#8. Leki Carbonlite AERGON Antishock Poles

#9. GoLite DriMove BL-2 Longsleeve Zip

#10. Saucony ViZi-PRO Collection

About Drymax Trailrunning Socks The Gear Junkie stated "As the name says, Drymax socks are made to keep your feet dry, be it from sweat or water seeping in during a trail run. A proprietary fabric mix moves moisture away from the skin, preventing blisters. I wore a pair for two days while backpacking in Colorado. My shoes were wet on and off, but the Drymax Trail Running crew sock kept my feet happy. Dense padding provided comfort. Tight cuffs on the ankles kept out sand and debris. And the company’s special “dry” fabric helped to pull moisture off of my skin."

This list has been published thus far on his website, http://www.gearjunkie.com/ , http://www.outsidemagazine.com/ , http://www.startribune.com/ , http://www.trib.com/ , and http://www.billingsgazette.com/ .

Stephen Reginold, writes Outside Magazine's "Gear Junkie Scoop" column. Syndicated papers include Minneapolis Star Tribune, Spokane Spokesman-Review, Redding Record, Casper Star-Tribune, Billings Gazette, Twin Falls Times-News as well as Blue Ridge Outdoors, Outdoors NW, Adventure Sports Journal and Scouting Magazine. Reginold is also a freelance contributor for New York Times.

logo provided by www.gearjunkie.com photo by Bob MacGillivray