Hi Amber
Welcome to the forum.
Hmmm. Bloody messes? That's a new one on me, but I did have a terrible time with blisters when I first started running.
It's one of those issues that there's no agreement on. On long runs, I use Thorlo socks. Very well-made, comfortable, padded, and long-lasting. I bought 4 pairs in early 2002 and all are still going strong. Other people use Falke socks. They actually have a designated right and left sock in each pair. A bit gimmicky I always thought, but I may be wrong. Google 'em.
Another thing I sometimes do for long runs is wear two pairs of ordinary, thinner socks. This is a technique often used by long-distance walkers. The idea is that the friction with the shoe sort of gets absorbed before it reaches your foot. I don't think I explained that too well, but anyway, it seems to help.
In general though, you may want to look at hardening up your feet a bit. In the UK it's often recommended that you rub surgical spirit into your feet to toughen them. Another common remedy is to liberally coat your feet with vaseline/petroleum jelly.
One obvious question is: do your shoes fit properly? If they are slightly too big, you may find there's too much 'play' in them which is a common cause of blisters.
Do you use Asics by any chance? A lot of people (including me) find that the Asics fit results in blisters, particularly round the instep.
The way I finally solved my own problem was, well, partly a combination of most of the above, but mainly I think, just gradual toughening of the feet. I ran for about 5 months leading up to the London Marathon in 2002, having trouble with blisters almost all the way through the training as well as on the big day itself. After the marathon I took a few weeks off to recover, then started back again. I've pretty much never had trouble with blisters ever since. It was as if the break gave my feet a chance to recover, and once I'd got back into running they knew what to expect.
Do you have Compeed plasters over there? (plaster = 'bandaid'). The best thing I've found for running with a blister or, if put over the pressure points, very good at warding them off.
Check out this brief article. It's aimed at walkers but it's relevant for runners too.
http://travel.guardian.co.uk/askatravell...74,00.html
