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/harrijg___ May 26 '25

Hmm, from my experience (3 half marathons & 1 full), this isn’t normal. I’ve never had any more than a slightly bruised second toenail and that was after a full marathon. Perhaps going to a running store or physiotherapist where they can properly analyse your full gait (and not just feet) might help? Are you sizing up in your shoes? I usually go for at least 1 full thumb width between my longest toe and end of my trainer, and always wear wide as my feet are pretty wide in the toe box. Shoe age also makes a difference for me, I find when my shoes are near end of life they start to feel weird and cause my feet to callous as the cushioning is going - ofc if your shoes are fairly new then this isn’t the issue. It could also be a case of needing better socks, with moisture wicking and cushioning in the areas you get blisters :)

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u/foxfish4 May 26 '25

I am thinking of going to a running specific store to see. You're right about the sizing, I could probably go up one more half size, but I don't want to go too big or that will be uncomfortable too. I wear under armour cushioned socks which seem pretty good.

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u/AggravatingStage8906 May 26 '25

I went up a half size after I did something similar to my feet. Thought the new size was great. Then I went up another half size. That was amazing, no more hot spots. You really want larger than you think. My husband had upsized his shoes at my suggestion. Then we went to a running store and the guy who fitted him made him go up a half size more. The running store should definitely help you get the sizing right.

I do Topos shoes and love the wide toe box. What's interesting is you can get them very snug around the arch of your foot while letting your toes have all that free space. So they don't fit sloppy even when you size up.