Runners Choice Foot Oil

I was sent a bottle of Runners Choice foot oil from Trusted Health products to evaluate. As a frequent runner (2387 days in a row!) I’ve had my share of soreness.  Specially, soreness in my shins, knees, and feet.  Joggling back to back 14 milers really leads to a lot of soreness. 

Runners Choice oil product

So, I got this bottle of the Runner’s Choice foot oil and thought I would try it out.  The product comes in a 2 ounce, brown glass bottle and is made up of various oils including almond oil, wintergreen, spearmint, eucalyptus, and eucalytol. It has a thickness (or viscosity as we say in the business) which is slightly thicker than water.  But the thing you notice most is the odor. There is no mistaking that strong wintergreen and spearmint odor.  If you like that odor then you’ll like this product.  I find it pleasant enough.

Performance

It’s always difficult to determine whether a product works or not.  And in truth for a treatment like this you would really need to try it to figure out if it works for you.  For me, I liked the odor, the application wasn’t too bad, and it may have minimally reduced my soreness.  It is reminiscent of something like Ben Gay but without the stinging associated with it.

Let’s look at the claims for the product…

The Runner’s Choice is scientifically formulated with 100% natural botanical oils of almond, eucalyptus, eucalyptol, wintergreen, peppermint, and spearmint. Unlike many commercial creams and lotions, the botanical oils in The Runner’s Choice are very easily received through the pores in the skin, with simple topical application, and no rubbing.

They don’t make very strong claims and it appears that the product lives up to everything it claims.  I believe it is formulated with 100% botanical oils since that is what is on the ingredient list.

I’m not sure I buy the claim  that it is more “…easily received through the pores in the skin…” than creams and lotions but there is at least some theoretical reason it would be.  Creams & lotions are designed to stay in the epidermal layer and any essential oils in them would be diluted and penetration would be reduced.  As a 100% oil this product has the highest chance of penetrating. That’s not saying it does (nor would penetrating into the body be something you want) but it is likely true that this product can penetrate skin.  Incidentally, the product will travel through the skin and the pores don’t have much to do with it.

Mostly, I’m surprised that the claims are not stronger. They don’t even say what the product is supposed to do.  For some reason I intuitively think that it is supposed to relieve soreness and it does to some extent.  Although it could be psychosomatic but that doesn’t matter much.

So there you have it.  Runner’s Choice foot oil.  It’s an interesting enough product and worth trying if you want an indulgent, pleasant experience that may even help reduce soreness.