purple toe nail

[soulrunner]

Hello everyone!
Just wondering if anyone has advice or thoughts for me...
Last September I ran a half marathon and the toenail right beside my big toes (on both feet) turned black and I had to cut them off eventually. It took 6 months to grow back completely, and just a month later the toe nail on my left foot is black again. It is not a happy process for me... how can I prevent this in the future? Do I wrap it in a bandage every run to protect it? Change the brand of shoes? Help!

[Irongirl]

Most important first question - did you take pictures? Will you share them?

After that, I'm not sure.

I know that a lot of people go up a half size in shoes - especially for long runs.....

[turd ferguson]

Did anybody else have a deep-gut cringe thinking that soulrunner had cut her own toes off?

My only advice is to make sure your shoes are long enough and your nails are kept trimmed.

[ian]

Bandaging probably won't help because the underlying cause is pressure and impact, not friction. The suggestions for trimming and up-sizing the shoes are good, but beyond that, you might just have to accept mangled toes as a sign that you're in good shape. I usually find that with consistent training, my feet can adapt enough to create thick non-black toenails (just like a sequence of blisters eventually thickens the skin).

[BJH]

Find a good pedicure salon. Unless it is painful, I can usually ignore discoloured nails with the right polish.

As an aside, after a particularly muddy trail race, the only way to get my nails completely clean is to go for a pedicure. They don't even flinch.

[soulrunner]

Did anybody else have a deep-gut cringe thinking that soulrunner had cut her own toes off?

My only advice is to make sure your shoes are long enough and your nails are kept trimmed.

That made me laugh......
I keep my nails trimmed, and my shoes are plenty big enough. When I get a black toenail, the blister underneath actually raises the nail 1/8 of an inch! It has clearly come off the nail bed, and even when I drain the blister, the next time I run it fills up again. I guess I will just have to resign myself to the fact that I will be constantly going through this process every six months. Running shorter distances is not an option, but maybe it could be cured by actually cutting my toe off turd!!! LOL

And perhaps I will post a photo when I get the courage to take off the bandage that is on it right now -- it is just to keep the nail from being ripped off when I accidentally stub something!!! Doesn't that always happen when you have a sore toe?

[ultraslacker]

I find that my toes take more of a beating in my road shoes than in my trail shoes, for two reasons:
- the trail shoes have a toe guard (yay!)
- the trail shoes fit so well that my foot doesn't slide around inside the shoe. Check this part on your shoes. Even if you have enough toe space, if your feet are sliding forward inside the shoe you will still be hitting the front/top of the shoe when you run.

aside from that, keeping the nails trimmed helps, and there are even some ultra runners who have had their toenails permanently removed.

[Spirit Unleashed]

Watch to see it the toe folds down right at the location of your toe nail. Just the slight pressure of the fold can take out a toe nail over several hours of running/walking. I cut holes in my toe boxes to change the fold pattern. The holes don't increase the number of rocks going in, and they are easy to get out if they do.

[carm]

I have the same problem with my left foot in Brooks Glycerins. I went back to my Nimbuses for the time being and haven't had any issues, although my black toe nail is still there and hasn't come off yet.

[chunkymonkeymelonhed]

Sorry I couldn't resist.

[soulrunner]

hmmmmm mine doesn't look half as exciting (or disgusting!!!) as that......bummer.

[Avis]

That is almost as ugly as the RM mascot!

[carm]

I have the same problem with my left foot in Brooks Glycerins. I went back to my Nimbuses for the time being and haven't had any issues, although my black toe nail is still there and hasn't come off yet.

I'm bumping this thread since I need some shoe recommendations. Although the obvious is to go back to my Nimbuses, I need some help. I recently tried the Saucony Rides and they caused the same problem for me and that same toe nail is currently bruised and will probably die. I had a closer look at my feet today in bright sunlight and noticed that my left index toe is much longer than the big toe and the right index toe, which is probably why it keeps getting bruised despite a good fit. It's been happening on and off since fall 2011 and I've now lost this same toenail 3-4 times. I'm trying to get into a lower drop shoe with less cushioning for longer runs (i.e. 90 min plus) but this keeps happening with certain runners. My Saucony Peregrines (my trail shoes) and the Kinvaras (which I use for speedwork and sub-15k runs during the summer) are just fine, which is why I tried the Rides.

[CAW]

Just wanted to say I'm glad I've never had this issue. But then again I keep my toenails so short that the end of my toe extends no less than 1/4 inch further than my toenails do.

[scrumhalfgirl]

I have the same problem with my left foot in Brooks Glycerins. I went back to my Nimbuses for the time being and haven't had any issues, although my black toe nail is still there and hasn't come off yet.

I'm bumping this thread since I need some shoe recommendations. Although the obvious is to go back to my Nimbuses, I need some help. I recently tried the Saucony Rides and they caused the same problem for me and that same toe nail is currently bruised and will probably die. I had a closer look at my feet today in bright sunlight and noticed that my left index toe is much longer than the big toe and the right index toe, which is probably why it keeps getting bruised despite a good fit. It's been happening on and off since fall 2011 and I've now lost this same toenail 3-4 times. I'm trying to get into a lower drop shoe with less cushioning for longer runs (i.e. 90 min plus) but this keeps happening with certain runners. My Saucony Peregrines (my trail shoes) and the Kinvaras (which I use for speedwork and sub-15k runs during the summer) are just fine, which is why I tried the Rides.

If it's a toe length issue, I wonder if you'll have to either go up a half size and do a different lace job, or cut out part of your shoe. Or maybe something with a higher toe box?

Or what about one of those "natural" style shoes that don't taper at the front - that are more square. Altra, I think is like that. There are a couple.

I'm also in the process of playing with my shoes, and my issue is being too narrow across my widest part of my forefoot, compounded by the fact that I have narrow heels. I found some great lacing ideas online (i can send you the links if you like), but not sure they would help for a length issue, as opposed to fit. That seems to be helping my situation.

You could try asking at Sports4 for ideas? they know their stuff.

[carm]

Some good suggestions, scrummie. I'm a bit hesitant to go up a 1/2 size since the fit is fine for my right foot. This issue doesn't tend to manifest until after 15 km after I've done at least 3-5 runs in them. I have very short nails on my hands and feet since I can't stand long nails. The length of the toe nail is well below the tip of my toe so I suspect it's an issue with the top of the toe box. I might need to ask Spirit about shoe hack jobs.

[jgore]

If you're one of those whose toes come up when they run - you can often tell if you tend to punch holes in the top of the toe-box - you may need a model of shoe with a deeper toe-box.

[Habs4ever]

If you're one of those whose toes come up when they run - you can often tell if you tend to punch holes in the top of the toe-box - you may need a model of shoe with a deeper toe-box.

This is me! I always have a hole in my right shoe, and that is the nail I always lose. Right index toe. I finally tried a 1/2 size larger (by fluke)* and I'm happy I did. I now have 3 size 7's, but also 2 more pairs of 6.5 to use up.

* I wear Nimbus, but a store had Cumulus on sale for $50.00 and only is size 7. I figured for the price I would give it a try. Since then, I've been buying my Nimbus in 7, and it seems to be working.

[Jwolf]

Some good suggestions, scrummie. I'm a bit hesitant to go up a 1/2 size since the fit is fine for my right foot. This issue doesn't tend to manifest until after 15 km after I've done at least 3-5 runs in them. I have very short nails on my hands and feet since I can't stand long nails. The length of the toe nail is well below the tip of my toe so I suspect it's an issue with the top of the toe box. I might need to ask Spirit about shoe hack jobs.

Going up a half-size shouldn't make a huge difference for the other foot and it's the most easiest fix. It's worth a try. It's not uncommon for the problem to only come up in the longer distance runs. I had this issue when I first started running half-marathons-- had to go up to size 11 when before that I would always get 10 or 10.5!

[Spirit Unleashed]

I cut holes in the toe box. No issue with rocks, since most of these come in the heel. If they get to the toe, totally easy to remove.

But, notice where the shoe folds down, or where there is trim right over your toe. These things take out the toe nails. That tiny about of bumping is a problem over long distance. You can remove the trim or just put slits in the toe box so it folds differently.

[Trish_C]

This used to happen to me all the time. Other people used to take pictures of my toe because it was so gross. In my case, my big toe was coming under my second toe, forcing the second toe into the top of the shoe. I had some success with using those silicon toe spacers between my big toe and my second toe for half-marathons, not so much fulls. You might try that if you don't want to cut a hole in your shoe.