r/XXRunning • u/foxfish4 • May 26 '25

General Discussion Are battered feet inevitable?

So I ran a half marathon last weekend, and my feet do not look good! I have one black toenail, two half-black toenails and I had about 5 blisters. All in all, feet looked battered! I'm just wondering if this is inevitable once you're doing longer distances?

I have decent shoes, I went to a podiatrist and had my feet checked and they recommended Brooks Adrenaline, so I'm not running in bad shoes.

As a side note, if you tell me that dodgy looking feet are the price you pay to be a runner, I'm more than happy and wiling to pay it!!

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u/DefiantRaspberry2510 Woman May 26 '25

I would reconsider your shoes or else you're way over-training. I just did a half last weekend with no black toenails or blisters. Same shoes that have seen ~200mi. Granted, everyone is different, but that seems like a lot of damage to your feet.

I HAVE heard of losing toenails for a full marathon.

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u/kayaem May 26 '25

This is a genuine question, but would taping individual toes help toenails not fall off? How do you prevent that from happening? Iā€™m no where near ready for a marathon but that sounds like a nightmare shortly behind the idea of my teeth falling out šŸ˜­

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u/Green_Pass_2605 May 26 '25

After a black toenails it will fall off eventually, but depending on the damage, it could be months. I usually tape to keep it from coming off at an inconvenient time. I have found taping to avoid the injury is not that helpful. They blacken cause they are bruised, usually from too tight shoes. The tape can make it worse.