How about this for a picture of Brian Sell’s Brooks T6 shoes shortly after last weekend’s Olympic Marathon in Beijing? Can you imagine what his feet must look like?

According to the interview on Flotrack.org Sell prefers to go sockless in a marathon:

I never wore socks running a marathon. But I never ran a marathon that was this wet before. So, you know, it’s my own fault. I mean, the T6 is a great shoe. You just should wear socks if it’s over 80 degrees or 70 degrees, and you’re dumping water all over yourself all the time.

If you’re wondering about the T6, it’s a brand new shoe from Brooks which will replace the excellent T5 early next year.

I own a pair of the T5′s and can’t imagine running a marathon in them with or without socks! A 10k is about my limit – anything longer and I step up to my favorite shoe, the Racer ST 3 which I’ll be wearing this weekend in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon.

Original story: Runner’s World

Photograph: Flotrack.org

Picked up another pair of Brooks Racer ST3 today – my favorite shoe for the classic marathon distance. I already own two pairs of the lightweight ST3′s, but wanted a new pair for Sunday’s Frederick Marathon which will give me maximum support and maximum cushioning. I know what you’re thinking – never wear brand new shoes in a race (especially a marathon) – but I’m familiar enough with the shoe to know it will be fine right out of the box and shouldn’t cause me any problems in the race. Naturally I’ll try the shoes out “just in case” of course…

Anyway, onto tonight’s run – a five mile slow/fast/slow/fast/slow effort (in my new ST3′s). The wind was still quite blustery today (nothing like yesterday’s tornado conditions of course), but the sun was shining and it was a very pleasant afternoon for a run. First mile was a 7:26 into the wind, which I followed up with a 6:49 also into the wind. The new shoes felt great and will definitely accompany me on my trip to Frederick this weekend.

I decided to slow it down a bit on the third mile (after all my race is on Sunday, not tonight) and recorded a 7:08 split. However, on my way home, with a nice tailwind and spring in my step, I couldn’t help but pick up the pace. The fourth mile was almost marathon pace (6:38) and despite “trying” to slow down for the last leg of the run, I still managed a 6:43 fifth mile.

On reflection, the shoes were wonderful. No hotspots, no blisters and no surprises. Actually the only thing different was the colorway – a lime green and black instead of a bright red and silver. Both are kind of loud but I’m not really bothered what color they are as long as they get me to the finish line in good shape!

My legs are still not feeling 100%, but a few days of taper should take care of that. As Eric just discovered, the taper really messes with your mind and your body, so at this stage I’m not overly concerned about how I’ll feel on race day. Tomorrow sees the start of another Race Day Boost loading cycle, and I guess I won’t be running many more miles this week. I’ll probably run an easy five tomorrow to take my monthly total to 200 and my year-to-date total over the 800 mark, but after that it will just be a few easy miles with a few striders.

Hope everyone’s having a good week. I still haven’t received any guesses for my marathon finish time. Come on, don’t be shy…

PS By the way, my bib# for the marathon is 940 which I’m very happy with. Add up the 9, the 4 and the zero and you get 13 – probably my all time lucky number. Can’t get much better than that can it?

I’ve already picked out my racing shoes for the Shamrock Marathon – the 8.4oz Brooks ST3, but my next dilemma is what socks should I wear. Okay, so it might seem a trivial concern to most of my readers – it’s just a sock after all – but it could be the difference on the day between happy feet and not so happy feet. Naturally I would much rather have happy feet for the 26.2 miles…

Recently I’ve been wearing the excellent Balega X-Athlete Hidden Comfort which sports the following features:

• Hand-linked seamless toe for seamfree comfort
• Specially constructed mesh ventilation panel to keep your feet cool and dry
• High tab heel ensures that your liner stays in place, providing for a comfortable fit
• Extra-deep heel pocket
• Cushioning for impact resistance

They perform really well and although I’ve never had a blister problem, I’ve often wished they were less bulky.

Enter the Balega X-Athlete Hidden Dry – a similar sock to the Hidden Dry with the extra-deep heel pocket and hand-linked seamless toe, but without the cushioning. Sounds just like what I was looking for doesn’t it?

Well, I’ve tried them out on several practice runs and although I think they’d be perfect for distances up to a half-marathon, I’m not going to risk them in Sunday’s marathon. The cushioning could be a great feature in the latter miles, when my legs are tired and I’m feeling every footstep.

As a final test, I even ran a couple of miles on the treadmill tonight. The Hidden Comfort definitely came out on top and I’ll feel better knowing I have that extra protection as I take my place on the start line. Think I’ll save the Hidden Drys for a fast 5k or 10k in the Spring….