Conquering the Atacama Crossing (Chile)

So here we are. I’ve tried some new tape. On the picture, from top left to bottom right, duct tape, athletic tape, maxtape, pre-tape. 

The one I wanted to test was the maxtape (japanese brand), it had funky colours and was 4 times more expensive than the standard athletic tape that I used to use for rock-climbing. It had to be good. I applied anchors with the usual duct tape (it sticks to the skin like blood suckers and stays there for life), wrapped my ankles with the maxtape on the right foot, and with the standard athletic tape on the other foot.

 I was very disappointed. The maxtape is not designed for feet taping at all. It is not waterproof, so as soon as you step into water, it starts peeling off. It is also a little too stretchable, so it felt too tight. It just plainly didn’t work at all. I guess it can only be used for what it was made for: muscle support and not joints support.

 I’ve reverted to using duct tape and standard athletic tape. As for the pre-tape, which you apply directly on the skin, under the tape to avoid the unthinkable pain of plucking all your hair when you remove the sticky duct tape, well, I’ll shave my legs before the race. It’s safer. The pre-tape tends to get a bit loose after a couple of hours of running.