Over the last year, I've occasionally dealt with a hot spot on the ball (forefoot) of my foot.  It's never really blistered or anything.  I take that back.  It blistered once.  That wasn't too bad though.

Recently, I've had more issues with it.  I've also noticed the callus has gotten more pronounced.  I've been buying the same shoe since June 1st because I've had great results with it.  So, I don't think it's the shoe.  Again, I had the same issue from time to time with other shoes in the past, but not enough to warrant any serious action.

This weekend, the hot spot became pain eventually around mile 16.  By the time I called it a day at mile 18, it felt pretty damn bad.  I inspected my foot when I get home, and the one that was hurting really bad had a pretty thick callus on it.  The other was a little uncomfortable, and had a callus that wasn't quite as thick.  I'm thinking that the callus is causing the pain, but the other part of me thinks that the callus may just be another symptom.  Regardless, I've sanded the callus down a bit.  After taking yesterday off, I'll find out tonight if that helps.

Other things I've tried:

1) I've worn my socks inside out.  That seemed to offer some relief.  I didn't do that Saturday though.  Not sure why I didn't.

2) Body glide on my foot.  Eh...I'm not sure if it did much of anything.  It certainly didn't fix the problem Saturday.

Other factors:

1) The last 4 months have been the highest mileage months I've ever run.

2) I weigh a LOT less than I've weighed in 20 years.  My shoe size has gone from a 13 wide to a 12.5 and sometimes a 12.  My feet are much bonier now.

3) The discomfort usually starts at some point during the run when I'm turning a corner.  It rarely starts when I'm running a straight line.

4) Pace definitely plays a role.  I'm much more likely to start feeling it at marathon pace or faster.

Does anybody have any thoughts or suggestions.  If this thing kicks in during my marathon in November, it's going to be a PAINFUL finish.

Is it a friction thing or a nerve thing?  There's a bundle of nerves, IIRC, under that part of the foot which in cyclists definitely causes a "hot foot" sensation - but that's different than friction/blister type stuff.   Here's a link to the cyclists version, maybe some of this crosses over to running - linky (there's a lot more out there on this subject, if helpful at all).

Don't rule out the shoes.  You're doing different/more training than you were in June it sounds like, so your needs may have changed.   It was explained to me that the faster you run the more the compressive forces come into play, so that could be the connection to speed.

Is it the foot you brake with when driving?  I had a similar problem and deduced it was the brake pedal in the vehicle I drive at work.  I started braking with a flat foot on the center of brake pedal, as opposed to the ball of my foot on the corner of the pedal and voila, problem solved.

There's also the possibility of Morton's Neuroma.  That can feel like a piece of gravel underfoot.  Are you still wearing the wide shoes?  If not, you may need to go back to them.  My husband has very wide feet, and he had problems when he was wearing a 2E instead of a 3E.

And something that can look like plantar's wart could be a callus-like thing like porokeratoma.

I had really painful forefeet for awhile where I was using callus pads (open circles) or metatarsal pads to relieve pain. My GP thought they were plantar warts, but podiatrist diagnosed them as porokeratoma and shaved them off - painless since it was all dead skin that went flying through the air. He prescribed a foot lotion for softening the skin. They redevelop though, although I just did a loop 26.2 mi with 3500ft of downhill - legs are trashed but my feet didn't hurt. I've found Saucony Xodus 3 works well for me.

But that may still be a symptom, not the cause. My PT suggested the metatarsal pads to relieve the pressure caused by forefoot striking with high arch. He explained it with a rubber model, and I believe him, but I like forefoot striking to land between roots and rocks, reduce slippage on ice, and going up steep hills.

Lots of things it could be though. Good luck figuring it out.

And something that can look like plantar's wart could be a callus-like thing like porokeratoma.

 

I had really painful forefeet for awhile where I was using callus pads (open circles) or metatarsal pads to relieve pain. My GP thought they were plantar warts, but podiatrist diagnosed them as porokeratoma and shaved them off - painless since it was all dead skin that went flying through the air. He prescribed a foot lotion for softening the skin. They redevelop though, although I just did a loop 26.2 mi with 3500ft of downhill - legs are trashed but my feet didn't hurt. I've found Saucony Xodus 3 works well for me.

 

But that may still be a symptom, not the cause. My PT suggested the metatarsal pads to relieve the pressure caused by forefoot striking with high arch. He explained it with a rubber model, and I believe him, but I like forefoot striking to land between roots and rocks, reduce slippage on ice, and going up steep hills.

 

Lots of things it could be though. Good luck figuring it out.

Not sure why I didn't think of this before, but I have had this for at least 5 years. 1 podiatrist called it that, while my current one calls it a dropped metatarsil. Google both terms. I get my foot scraped every 6 months. The first time was painful, and no big deal now. 1 xacto knife later and I'm good to go. I run the next day with a band aid and I'm back to normal.

Bottom line see a podiatrist. This is not a problem if you have this done every so often.

This is good to know. My podiatrist suggested it might need to be rescraped.   6 months sounds about right. It's been getting really bad again the last couple months (8 months since it was scraped). However, I've also just realized that if I wear only my xodus's or my wool clogs, it doesn't seem to be aggravated as much. In fact with the Xodus, it seems to recede after flaring in other shoes.

 

I've also found a better file than what I had been using. I've also been experimenting with a DIY thingie (don't remember the name, but was near the emory boards) designed to scrape them off. Blade is at an angle so it's hard to do any damage.

 

What amazed me the first time the podiatrist scraped it was that my feet were instantly pain free. I about ran out of his office since that was the first my feet hadn't hurt in maybe a couple years.

The first podiatrist thought that it had something to do with sweat, so I wear dry socks as often as possible even to work. When I go in there I take off both shoes, and ask them to check for other spots. My new podiatrist is a talker so he will scrape parts of both feet without being asked.

Awood if it feels like you have a rock in your shoe all the time, you may have what we are talking about. After the first podiatrist visit, it isn't that bad.