how do I escape blisters and lost toenails? (Read 990 times)

I've not had that problem, but I've heard about it. General consensus seems to be that black and lost toenails almost always come from shoes being too small because your toes hit the end of the shoes, especially after your feet swell a lot on those long runs. I stole these threads from www.coolrunning.com: One of several threads on toenails (others mostly talk about shoes being too small): http://www.coolrunning.com/forums/Forum6/HTML/019392.shtml Thread on blisters: http://www.coolrunning.com/forums/Forum6/HTML/019665.shtml My guess would be that your feet started swelling more on your longer runs and the shoes you've currently got just weren't able to accomodate them. But you are NOT the only person with this problem. Janell

Eeek! Sounds very unpleasant! I hope some of that stuff works for you! And I hope I never need to find out for myself... Janell

That sounds down right nasty to me! I can't imagine losing toe nails at all. Like Janell said, blisters, black toe nails, or missing toe nails are caused by your shoes not fitting properly. It can be that the shoes are too small, or too large, both cases will cause unwanted rubbing or shifting of the foot inside of the shoe. Get a pair of properly fitted shoes and you should be golden!

Mile Collector has pretty well 'nailed' it. A properly-sized toe box makes a world of difference. And--when doing longer runs (Half and Full marathons), your shoes should be tied a little looser than normal to accomodate the fact that your feet will swell during the run. You could try another brand of double-lined sock as well, and see if that makes any difference.

I'm going to make an appointment with a podiatrist, then have my shoes checked.

Sounds like a VERY good idea! Good luck!