During summer, runs tend to be longer, the terrain rougher, and the hot, humid weather more demanding. This makes confidence in your equipment vital. For nearly 50 years, Sidas has been crafting comfort and performance solutions for athletes' feet. Our socks, insoles, and protective gear are designed with one purpose: to make you forget about your feet, so you can focus on the thrill of the trail.
Planning to hit the trails this summer? Learn how to choose the right gear with our guide to socks, insoles, and foot protection, specifically tailored for summer trail running.
Preventing Foot Pain During Summer Trail Running
Summer conditions, with their longer sessions, intense heat, and rugged terrain, can lead to various foot problems, including blisters, overheating, black toenails, arch pain, and ankle sprains. To avoid these issues, it’s important to not only prepare your feet but also equip them with the right gear.Recommended Summer Trail Running Equipment:
- Thin, breathable socks: Opt for technical socks like the 'Trail Protect,' 'T-Free Trail,' or 'Trail Ultra' for comfort in summer conditions.
- Customized insoles: Designed for trail running, insoles like the '3D Trail+' or '3Feet Trail' offer comfort, stability, and precision.
- Compression sleeves: Enhance circulation and muscle performance with the 'Ultra Light Run Calf' compression sleeves.
- Foot protection: Use anti-friction cream, recovery gel, toe protectors, or anti-blister pads to safeguard your feet from the summer’s challenges.
Choosing the Best Trail Running Socks for Summer
Selecting the right trail running socks for summer is essential. Since socks are in direct contact with your feet, they play a significant role in your overall comfort and performance. Investing solely in shoes and skimping on socks is a common mistake that can impact your trail running experience.
Key Features of a Good Trail Running Sock:
- Thinness: A thin sock remains unnoticeable, allowing freedom of movement and a better feel within your shoes.
- Breathability: Moisture is a runner's worst enemy, particularly in hot weather. Choose breathable socks that wick sweat away.
- Comfort: Look for socks with integrated support in critical areas to protect your feet.
- Ethical fibers: Opt for socks made from natural, sustainable materials for both comfort and eco-friendliness.
By selecting the right socks, insoles, and protective gear, you'll ensure a more enjoyable and pain-free trail running experience this summer.
WHAT SIDAS SOCK MODEL SHOULD YOU CHOOSE FOR TRAIL RUNNING IN SUMMER?
At Sidas, we've designed 3 models of socks that are perfectly suited to the demands of trail running in summer conditions:
Thought of as a 'game-changer' and developed in collaboration with one of the world's top trail runners, Jonathan Albon, this sock sets a new standard in terms of comfort and performance. This is thanks to a unique concept: a technology that frees up the big toe. The big toe plays a fundamental role in the body's balance, alignment and propulsion, so restoring its freedom allows your foot to regain all its natural stability and dynamism. Its airy, breathable mesh positioned under the arch of the foot and its composition of fibres derived from Polygiene Stayfresh technology ensure long-lasting freshness and improved odour management ideal for summer.
Ultra-technical, ultra-light & ultra-breathable trail socks. These innovative socks are the perfect partner in your long summer adventures or your running goals for the season. What are its key advantages? :
- 'Ultra Fit' technology which allows it to function like an exoskeleton, offsetting the results of muscular fatigue over every passing hour and thereby limiting the risk of injury.
- 'In & Out' construction: no loose threads means no badly placed seams which could cause unpleasant chafing.
The Trail Protect sock has established itself as the 'benchmark' in trail running socks. Thanks to its breathability, durability, comfort and versatility, this is one of the most popular socks worn by runners taking part in the legendary UTMB. 'In & Out' construction, ankle support band, integrated supports, breathable mesh, natural fibre composition, anti-blister grip strip... Here you can discover the key elements behind one of the best-sellers in the world of trail and ultra-trail.
WHY DO INSOLES IMPROVE COMFORT AND PERFORMANCE DURING TRAIL RUNNING?
For nearly 50 years, we at Sidas have been designing comfort solutions for the feet of sportsmen and women. Our historic expertise embodies a conviction: that it's the combination of the right shoe, the right sock and the right sole that provides women and men trail runners with more cushioning, more precision and more stability. That's right, it's the synergy of these 3 elements that optimises pleasure and performance! Yes, you can improve your performance and comfort with Sidas insoles! All you have to do is choose the ones best suited to your training needs from the following 2 new models:
The '3Feet Trail' trail insoles:
These insoles have just come out of our R&D laboratory, wherein 50 years of expertise is condensed into just 39 grammes. Equipped with the new Sidas Grip technology, they offer optimum control over even the roughest types of terrain. These breathable insoles are micro-perforated for optimum moisture wicking. Finally, thanks to the 3Feet concept, '3Feet Trail' trail insoles offer precise arch support and reduced muscle fatigue whether you have a flat foot, regular or high arch.
HOW DO I TAKE CARE OF MY FEET WHEN TRAIL RUNNING IN SUMMER? AND HOW DO I AVOID INJURIES?
As we emphasised earlier in this article, the key to comfort and performance lies in the combination of the right shoe, the right sock and the right insole.
However, sometimes the heat or the demands of the terrain are such that this equipment is not enough. That's when you need to complete it with these accessories and protective equipment that are anything but an afterthought, and can — as our professional athletes can attest — save your race. Toe protectors, anti-blister protection, anti-friction cream, compression sleeves... Here's a short list of essential tools to ward off any possibility of pain and run your trails in peace this summer:
The best friend of trail ultra runners. One word of advice: keep this miraculous cream to hand, not just during prep but also during the race itself and particularly at aid stations. This anti-friction cream, distinguished from its competitors by its 99% natural composition, has a protective property that increases your skin's elasticity and tone as well as its ability to defend against moisture and repeated impact. We've made our tubes of anti-friction cream available in small tubes, so you can take them with you absolutely everywhere, even when you're pinning on your race number.
These toe protectors in the form of silicone caps help cushion the impact on the front of the foot - and thus prevent the appearance of black toenails, particularly when running downhill - but also limit friction between your toes. Washable and reusable, these toe protectors come in different sizes, for each toe, and are as thin as they are light, so they remain unnoticed during your run. So much so that you'll not only forget about pain, but you'll forget you're wearing them!
With its immediate cooling effect, this recovery gel optimises circulation after exercise in order to prevent any potential foot pain while promoting muscle relaxation. This recovery cream will not provide any benefits during the race itself. However, its use can be invaluable: in advance, during preparation, after long or intense sessions, to promote recovery and make it easier to get on with the good days; afterwards, once you've crossed the finish line, to get your legs back to normal as quickly as possible, and, high on endorphins, sign up for your next race! This feeling of freshness is all the more pleasant in summer, when training in very hot weather.
Unlike traditional hydrocolloid plasters which often irritate rather than heal your blisters, our anti-blister protection in silicone gel can be used from the first sign of chafing to curb the blister's growth. Applied at aid stations to chafed areas that you're worried could develop into injuries after dutifully drying your feet, these anti-blister protectors will help you reach the mythical finish line pain-free.
Ultra-light and so thin you'll forget they're there, our 'Ultra Light Run Calf' compression sleeves stabilise your muscles, reduce muscle breakdown and promote blood circulation during exercise; at the same time optimising your venous return and therefore your post-race recovery!
"The key to comfort and performance lies in the combination of the right shoe, the right sock and the right insole."