Candidate Q: Boot sizes

Candidate Question:

Question about boot sizes. How much toe room should one have in the boots? And if there is too much room what happens?

A:

Brian, have just enough room for a bootsock liner (just use a dress sock) and a thick, cushioned bootsock. If there is more than just a little extra room, your foot will slide forward and back while running and the edges of your foot will get very blistered eventually. On the outside of the little toe and ball of the foot, and on the outside of the big toe you can develop very painful “hot spots” then blisters.

If you don’t have boots yet, I highly recommend getting Bates Lights early from Amazon, so that you have time to exchange them if they don’t fit right. You really want some good time to break them in. Your first pair might not be the right size, so don’t put off getting them!