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I'm sorry you're feeling foot pain.

I'm a marathoner and coach. Right off the top of my head, the pain along the bottom and side of your foot sounds like you might have a stress fracture. The numbness in your toes sounds like your shoes are either too tight or laced too tightly.

I recommend you see a podiatrist ASAP to make sure you aren't dealing with fractures. As for the numbness, there are a few things you can try:

  • -Use elastic laces, rather than the stock or usual cord laces, to allow some give across your foot.
  • -Try a different lacing pattern to alleviate pressure spots, see Custom tie your running shoes. I use a certain lace pattern because I have a high metatarsal bone and high arch.
  • -Get your shoes checked at a running store to make sure you're in the right size and model for your foot and issues. Sometimes, even our favorite models change.
  • -Ease back on your weekly miles, and avoid running more than 3 times/week. This will help you avoid overuse injury, the most common among distance runners.
  • -Try a different insert in your shoe, like Sole Ultra (I get mine from REI) or Super Feet. Because the Sole Ultras are heat molded to your foot, you may be able to (relatively inexpensively) custom fit the inserts to correct a biomechanical issue in your foot strike. Super Feet provide a little extra cushion, and I wore a pair in my shoes on my last marathon (last month) - my feet felt great!

I hope this helps. Please do get checked out by a podiatrist, and let us know what you find out. :))

July 13, 2009 - 5:44pm

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