Hyrox is a strange event for feet. In one race you'll run 8km, push and pull sleds, carry sandbags, lunge until your legs file a complaint, and finish on wall balls. Road shoes are wrong for the sleds. Lifting shoes are wrong for the runs. Most athletes settle on a hybrid trainer, and then give no thought at all to the sock inside it.
Where blisters actually come from
Two places, mainly: between the toes, and on the heel. And blisters aren't just friction. They're friction plus moisture. Sweat softens skin, softened skin rubs, rubbed skin blisters. A race that keeps you sweating for 60 to 90 minutes is the perfect factory.
NOT SOX attack both ends. At the front, individual toe sleeves remove skin-on-skin rubbing between the toes completely. At the back, the Y-gore heel anchors the sock so it moves with your foot, and the friction happens between sock and shoe instead of on your skin. The COOLMAX® knit deals with the moisture half of the equation.
The little toe tuck
Ever had your little toe curl up and tuck itself under your foot on a long run? That's fatigue in the outside of your foot and lower leg. Everything contracts to try to keep you stable, and your little toe pays the price. The separate toe sections stop the tuck happening, which means a more comfortable run today and, we reckon, a stronger and better balanced foot in the long run.
Toe drive
Watch someone push a heavy sled. They're on their forefoot with their toes clawed into the floor. Individual sleeves let every toe find the floor on its own, which is exactly what you want six stations deep on tired legs.
Race-tested, properly
NOT SOX were worn at the 2024 Hyrox World Championships. We also sponsored athletes walking 1,000km through the Abu Dhabi desert, and the ones in NOT SOX finished without a blister. One of them, Becky, added it up afterwards and found she'd done over 3,000km in the same pair once training was counted. Plenty of those athletes wore Altra trainers, whose wide toe box and cushioning pair particularly well with a toe sock, if you're choosing race shoes too.
Race-day rule
Nothing new on race day. That includes socks. Get a pair now, train in them for a block, and by the time the gun goes they'll be the one bit of kit you're not thinking about. That's the point. The 3-Pack is £30 with free UK delivery. One to race in, two to train in.