Ultra-running Foot Maintenance – Fish Exfoliation

Most of us have experienced it - feet damaged by the miles, the wet, and even sometimes an ill-fitting shoe. While we might be proud of the miles we can cover, the races we have finished, and the friendships hours on the trail have created – it has likely come at the expense of having beautiful feet.

Lest you despair and think that beautiful feet and ultra-running are incompatible, let me give you hope. I was recently in Northern Cambodia and heard rumors of fish that ate the dead skin off one’s feet. At first I thought it was just another crazy travelers tale, but upon hearing about “the fish that eat dead skin” from several sources I went in search. You see, I’m a seeker and I want beautiful feet!

We’ll I found the fish and gave it a try. $1.00 for 30 minutes. What did I have to loose other than perhaps my toes. When I dipped my feet into the tank they were swarmed by the small fish. The Cambodian owner of the fish said “You feet really dead. Fish like very much!” Nice, I’ve always wanted feet that were attractive to somebody, or in the absence of somebody, something….

A rather interesting experience… I could feel little bites on my feet as the fish nibbled away at the dead skin. I was glad they liked my feet, yet wondered if their gluttony was a deadly sin in the aquatic world. Would they be punished for the good they were doing to my feet?

Without giving too much thought to the fate of the gluttonous fish, I awoke the next morning to noticeably softer feet. Hmmm, I thought to myself – might there be a market for selling trail-running and foot fish exfoliation travel packages to Cambodia??