TESTIMONIAL FROM AVRIL CHALLONER
Avril Challoner came 3rd in the Raw Ultra Wicklow Way 50 mile race on the 8th Dec in 9 hours and 33 mins.
"My scientific background reminds me it's impossible to tell from one trial if it was good luck or the Qilta socks that kept my feet in good condition during and after the Raw Ultra Wicklow Way 50.
"What I can say is that
1) I got no blisters/hot spots
2) They felt great on my tired feet after the race
3) My feet are looking better than they have in a while, if only it was summer, and I could wear sandals."
We asked Avril about her thoughts on using Qilta having completed the Raw Ultra Wicklow Way 50 Mile race on the 8th Dec ’18
This is Avrils testimonial on her use of Qilta
"I had seen a lucky few other ultra-runners trialling the Qilta socks over the past year and they piqued my interest. A magic pair of socks that can keep an ultra-runner’s feet happy, why wouldn’t I want to try such a fantastic product?
After looking online, I realised they were still in a trial phase and getting my hands on a pair may be a long way off. So, when I saw Don looking for people to test Qilta socks and calf sleeves for the Raw Ultra Wicklow Way 50/100, I jumped!
I received two sets of socks/sleeves to test out, one for before and one for after. After reading the instructions I emailed Qilta directly for a little more direction on how to get the peak performance out of them. I was recommended to use the pre-race pair from lunchtime the day before I started the 50 miler on Saturday morning. They felt great putting them on, the menthol in them gave a cooling tingling sensation. Instructions state that an hour is enough but after emailing Qilta I decided to leave them on until bed-time (I hate sleeping in socks!). On removing them my feet/calves felt lovely and soft. I thought even if the socks do nothing at least my feet are looking a little less like a ultra-runners!
I used my normal socks/trail shoes for the race, I don’t suffer badly from blisters but usually have a few hot spots or sore toes after a race. In particular, one where my feet are wet for the whole race and there are long fire road/road sections like the Raw Ultra Wicklow Way 50. While other parts of my body were complaining about working hard my feet and calves were pretty quiet throughout the race.
As instructed, I got the recovery pair of socks and dry shoes on within a few minutes of crossing the finish line after 9 hours 33 minutes on my feet. However, as I couldn’t get my running tights above my calves, the calf sleeves had to wait until later. The socks felt great on my tired feet. I decided to leave checking my feet for any issues until after I got home and washed. The socks stayed on for about 3 hours before I got home and was able to properly wash. After washing off the layers of mud, I was pleasantly surprised that I had no blisters, hot spots or sore toe nails."
