Running Feet Friction and blisters

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I do buy my shoes big because I've had problems with black toenails (same scoot issue) and if the shoes aren't humongous, I get blacker toenails. this time, I only bought a size bigger rather than a size and 1/2.

hmmm.. What about a single pair of thicker socks instead of doubling up?  Maybe that'll help keep your feet from moving around too much and also give your toenails some cushioning.  Thorlo makes some nice thick socks   Are the black toenails just cosmetic or do they hurt too?  I'd take the funky toenails over raw burning feet.

Most of my knowledge of black toenails comes from ski boots but if the theories hold true I'd say that both issues are due to too big shoes. Black toenails often result from the repeated slamming of the toe into the toe box of the shoe.  If your shoe is bigger your foot has more room to move around and exacerbate the slamming action.  Also, make sure your toenails are cut quite short.  I used to have ski boots that were a size too big and had some nasty toe issues from it.  I finally went down a size and went through a whole season without a black and blue toe.  But, for me I've been warned by my podiatrist that if issues continue to crop up he's just gonna take off the whole toenail. 

I have a similar issue (I think)-- I have been getting blisters on the balls of my feet on longer distance runs, and while I haven't yet found a solution to this problem, I have found that Blister-Guard helps me stave off the onset of that burning sensation. It is some awesome stuff.

My next thing to try is "blister" socks, socks that are double layered to help with that sliding around.
I'll let you know how that goes! It is an aggravating problem for sure.

Go to a runner's store, not an athletic store that sells shoes, not a discount shoe store, a runner's store.

Have them fit you and tell them what is going on. They might have suggestions as well as solutions in addition to being able to recommend a shoe for your specific feet and issues.

I assume that you are not wearing cotton socks right, they cause blisters on longer runs. Have you used glide under the offending foot part? And x3 on the getting your shoes sized/fit by a decent running store. I had a pair of shoes, they were fine, then they "improved them" for the next model year and they caused endless blisters. I changed brands and that fixed the problem. It sux when they change your favorite shoe so as to make it hurt your feet.

two thoughts here:

1.  Go to a running store and have them show you how to lace your shoes.  I have some issues with fit if I don't use the 'runners lace' or whatever it's called (where you use the second set of eyelets).

2.  Black nail can be caused by your toes slamming forward or by your toe nail catching a seam and being pulled upward on every step.  Short nails and minor shoe mods can fix that without going up in size.  I have never heard of getting shoes a full size too big.  With proper lacing, you shouldn't need that much extra room up there.

On blisters on the ball of your foot, especially towards the outside (inside I guess).  I suffer from these, but am making improvement.  It might be worth having someone look at your gate and see if you are pronating really late.  I am a natural mid foot striker and also tend to roll and push off with the inside of my foot.  This rubbed that part of the ball of my foot causing blisters.  I had a few stores tell me that I needed heavy motion control shoes to fix it, which actually just made it worse.  I found that probably 75% of the problem was an imbalance caused by me sitting on my wallet all day.  That plus a move to a neutral support shoe with near 0 support in it as nearly cured it.


I had that issue with the balls of my foot blistering up.  Mine turned out to be weird pronation late into the stride.  My foot was landing point outward a little so when I rolled onto the ball of my foot, I rolled and pushed off the inside.  I somehow figured out that it was being caused by me sitting on my wallet all day at work...so now I don't do that anymore and it's better.  Anyway, while trying to figure it out, I found that a shoe with an exceedingly soft beam made life easier.  I can actually run in flats with no problem, but anything with a stiff midsole starts to rub.  So you may benefit from switching to a shoe with a less rigid beam.

Somebody posted this great article on alternative lacing techniques -

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-267--12334-0,00.h...

There is one lacing method that is specifically for black big toenails. Another option might be "toe caps". These are foam or gel protective caps that you place on the toes and wear while running. I've never tried them myself, so I can't comment on their effectiveness...but I do remember some people posting about them on this forum saying that they worked well.

http://www.feetrelief.com/feetrelief/gel_toe_cap.html

I also concur with the poster that suggested Thorlo running socks. I'm one of the rare cases that must use a super-thick cushioned running sock, and Thorlo socks have been my choice for years. I use the thickest sock that they make (#3's)...I've tried running in thinner, less-cushioned socks, and I have nothing but problems ranging from hot spots to numbness. I won't run in anything but Thorlo's.

were what finally worked for me... I have extremely narrow feet (the only thing that's really skinny on me!) and even if I buy the narrowest running shoe available (I go to a very good running store).... I still slosh around in my running shoes... but with help from said running store we were finally able to come up with a combination that eliminated the issue. I used to get blisters with anything over 3 miles...first time I tried the above combination was a 1/2 mary and no blisters!