Do triathlon runners wear socks?
Yes. Coolmax is the most common type of sock. But whether an athlete chooses to wear them depends on the goals and conditioning of the athlete as well as the distance of the race. The more experienced triathletes do not bother with socks for anything up to Olympic distance races. It saves about 30+ seconds in transition. When your competition has 20 second transition times at the elite level…. The prudent triathlete will wear coolmax socks for training, at Oly, ultra and Iron distance for the bike and the run so as to minimize the risk of blisters and injury. Unless 30 seconds can get you a podium finish or a Kona slot it isn’t really worth the risk of running with a painful (time killing–>bleeding–>debilitating) blister for 13.1 or 26.2 miles.
