Forums >Health and Nutrition>Ball of foot pain after half marathon
Hello,
I am 6 feet 2 tall, weighing 190lbs, 46 years old, midfoot runner.
I have run several half marathons. One pain persists in all half marathons: ball of foot pain. It only occurs in my right foot. These are the sysmptons I tend to feel when the pain occurs:
- Feeling of, like, a stone right behind my toes in the middle.
- Sometimes, If I try to stretch my toes, I feel a cramp kicks in underneath my foot.
- In one occasion, that pain was more of a hot spot without any feeling of sharp pain (in this race, I used Hoka one one Clifton 4)
- The pain tends to stop immediately after I finish the race and head home.
- I never get this pain in the left foot. It is always the right foot.
- The pain seems to start, very often, around the 7th mile of the half marathon race.
I have run in several running shoes, trying to find the right shoe for me. So far, the only shoe that seems to introduce the LEAST pain for me is hoka one one Rincon. I have tried some shoes that claim to be good for metatarsal pain, such as Brooks GTS 19, with no luck. I have started to believe that my right foot is somehow not landing properly. Any input on how to deal or take care of this pain will be much appreciated. THANKS in advance.
#RunEveryDay
It's hard to know what to suggest without more information.
Are you having pain in your foot during long runs in training? How long is your long run in training?
What sort of mileage do you have on your shoes when you get this pain? Does it happen with newer shoes (<75 miles) or mostly with older shoes (+300 miles)?
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One possibility is a Morton's neuroma. I have one in each foot, and my symptoms are very similar to yours.
Morton's neuromas are caused by a nerve between your metatarsals getting squeezed and irritated. If that's what's happening with you, then giving your foot a little more room in the forefoot could help.
I have had good results with relacing my shoes. I use parallel lacing for the lower holes, and then switch to the standard crossing lacing for the higher holes. This gives me a bit extra room in the forefoot, while keeping the shoe snug in the midfoot and heel
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I should add that pain sometimes feeling like a hot spot, and sometimes like a stone is stuck, is very characteristic of nerve pain.
And...the fact that it goes away almost immediately when you stop running, and that it comes on during longer runs, really points to a neuroma. As you run longer, your foot swells, and so a shoe that fit well in the early miles can start compressing your metatarsals in the later miles, seezing the nerve. As soon as you're done with the run, your foot starts to lessen in size, releasing some of the pressure. And, of course, if you change shoes after your run, you're giving the foot even more space.
This was my thought as well. For me, shoes that are wide in the forefoot and very neutral (not posted at all) got rid of my symptoms. Also it's a simple thing but learning not to tie your shoes to tight makes a big difference--took me a while to learn this.
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It's hard to know what to suggest without more information. Are you having pain in your foot during long runs in training? How long is your long run in training? What sort of mileage do you have on your shoes when you get this pain? Does it happen with newer shoes (<75 miles) or mostly with older shoes (+300 miles)?
During training, I don't have any pains at all. For my long runs, I often find a half marathon event, 10k, or 15k event and make that my long run. If no events, my long runs are 6 miles or less. I run 5 days a week with two days off for resting.
I never use shoes with higher mileage (200 miles +). So far the shoes I have been using are all 80 miles or less.
I should add that pain sometimes feeling like a hot spot, and sometimes like a stone is stuck, is very characteristic of nerve pain. And...the fact that it goes away almost immediately when you stop running, and that it comes on during longer runs, really points to a neuroma. As you run longer, your foot swells, and so a shoe that fit well in the early miles can start compressing your metatarsals in the later miles, seezing the nerve. As soon as you're done with the run, your foot starts to lessen in size, releasing some of the pressure. And, of course, if you change shoes after your run, you're giving the foot even more space.
Oh now it is making more sense to me since you have mentioned swelling and nerve pain. I have been using standard width with all my shoes. I will purchase new shoes with wider toe boxes and see how it goes. I think this will take care of it based on what you have explained. Thanks very much. I will keep you posted.
I got it now. Thanks very much. I will replace my standard width shoes with ones with wider toe boxes.
Consistently Slow
Thanks. My work shoes maybe the issue.
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The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff
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I didn't know there was a name for it, but I find if I wear my narrow shoes with spikes built in too much I get pain right where you describe (they're a women's shoe whereas I usually wear men's for the width). I find wider shoes don't cause the same issue.
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Hello All,
I just want to update you on this. I finally was able to get rid of the pain during race by sticking metatarsal pads to insoles. In my last half marathon (March 1st, 2020), I ran with metatarsal pads on the insoles of my Hoka one one Rincon and didn't experience ball of foot pain that normally started at around 7th mile. In this race, I actually crossed the finish line without ball of foot pain for the first time.
Sharing this in case it helps others with similar issue as I know it is so frustrating to get this pain when you actually want to focus on the run, pace, and form.
Thanks all of your input.