Nobody like socks for Christmas

So today's post comes with a little bit of a holiday infusion.  There's always a running joke about why it's no fun to get socks for Christmas, but I'm going to tell you why socks are a little bit more important than you likely give credit for

Blisters
Nobody likes them, everybody gets them at some point.  So how do you get them? The most common cause for getting them in athletics and probably the only way you get them is due to excess friction being produced in a single area.  So this will happen when you're breaking in shoes and they're super stiff and haven't moulded yet.  The can also happen when you're doing a super long run, or even a longish run. Another cause is improperly fitted shoes.  If you get them too big and you're moving around a lot, or even if you have small shoes that just put a clamp on your feet.  Neither are good for you.  So with that, lets look at how socks can help prevent blisters.

What you should look for
The material first and foremost is the most important material.  One thing that is ALWAYS the enemy is cotton.  The reason why is your feet sweat, believe it or not, and this kind of sweat will get nicely absorbed by cotton.  Only problem is that once it's been absorbed it just stays there and wet cotton is fantastic for creating friction against your feet.  So you should look for something that is not cotton, or at worst, very little.  Synthetic materials are usually good for this.

Cotton is the enemy

Depending on where you run you, it may be advisable to find socks that come a little bit higher on the ankles.  The reason for this is to keep dirt and pebbles and all sorts of other nasty stuff out your socks.  Granted the majority of dedicated "running" socks will be pretty low cut.

Fit of the sock should be pretty snug, not loose because if it is it's going to move around and create the friction that generates the blisters in the first place.  But you don't want to get some that are too too tight and cut off circulation, because that's bad as well.

A wee bit of cushioning is always nice, but don't get super thick socks.

Recommendation
Personally I have three pairs of running socks that I rotate through.  Two of the pairs are the same ones, and then I have a pair of super thing ones.  The recurring theme about them is that they're from Under Armour.  I actually got given a pair of these but they have become quite a favourite of mine.

Nike also makes very nice running socks and they are feet specific so they give you support where you need it and it's not that much.