Over the past couple of years, the balls of both feet tend to get sore after only a few minutes of running. It's worse on pavement, but it happens on the track as well.
I've tried several shoes and several different inserts. Some are slightly better than others, but the problem has gotten worse in the past year.
My current shoes include the Saucony Endorphine Pro, Hoka Rocket X, Speedgoat, Original vaporfly, Atreyu Racer.
Someone told me that the pads on the bottom of our feet get thinner with age. I don't know if that's true or not, but I need shoes with more forefoot cushion that I can use on the track at 4:40-6:00/mile pace. All of the previous shoes are stable enough for me for track workouts.
What shoes would you recommend that I try?
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I'm 43 years old, have run for 30 years, and am experiencing the same thing. For what it's worth, it seems worse in the cold. What you say about the pads in our feet getting thinner with age is interesting and something I'm going to look into more. I've found that if I can deal with the discomfort for 10-15 minutes, my feet go numb and are no longer painful. Does that ever happen to you?
I'm running in the Pegasus and Trail Kigers (Nike), Boston 11s and Adios (adidas), and Outroad 2 (Altra). I think the Altras are probably the most comfortable, but they're clunky and suitable for only easy runs. The only races I run anymore are trail or cross country, so I still wear spikes for those.
I've been thinking about switching to something like the Ultraboost or Saucony Triumphs or just running loops on a grass field. You mentioned inserts: What kinds have you tried?
. I've found that if I can deal with the discomfort for 10-15 minutes, my feet go numb and are no longer painful. Does that ever happen to you?
I really hope you check on that carefully before running on it too much. I’m no podiatrist so I don’t know if that leaves you susceptible to damage, but it’s the kind of thing I’d like to be sure to rule out before taking a risk there.
And any advise for whatever it is on top of the foot where you tie the knot of your shoe.
For years I’ve called it a “ nerve impingement “?… would be appreciated.
I’ve had 4 cortisone shots in this foot since 1977
Yes. Hopefully the following advice will help, but you've had this problem for so long that it might now be permanently a damaged. Anyway, you can try the following steps.
The Proximate Cause is that the laces are too tight in this spot. Shoelaces, especially when they're pulled tight, can't stretch so with each step they gouge into the top of the foot if the laces are too tight and over time that can cause this bruising and related nerve pain.
When the bruising isn't on the very top lace crossover or where you knot the shoe, the fix can be pretty simple; you just relace the shoe so the laces don't touch that area. There are a variety of lacing techniques to do this. You can look up YouTube videos on butterfly lacing and lock lacing to see different ways to lace up your shoes. Usually these lacing techniques are used to keep the heel from slipping up and down or to keep the foot from sliding back and forth, but it can also help with top of the lace pain.
Here's how I deal with this pain now.
I used to get this pain on the top of my foot often, but about 15 years ago I started replacing all of my running shoelaces with 1/8-in marine shock cord and cord locks. Even when it's tight, short cord will stretch a little which reduces the pressure on the spots where the laces are very tight.
If you are wearing your laces too tight because the shoe is slipping up and down in the heel or back and forth on your foot, here's how you can fix that. Use a nail or a cordless drill bit to drill a hole lower and closer to the heel than the top most eyelet. Then, use the butterfly lacing technique with that eyelet. That will snug your heel into the shoe so it doesn't move up and down or back and forth with each step. This step, done with butterfly lacing and marine shock cord laces, completely resolves the under-the-lacing pain for me.
A 100ft roll of shock cord will make about 15-20 pairs of shock cord laces. I routinely replace the factory laces with 1/8 in marine shock cord when I buy new shoes.
Caution. Skinner shock cord exists, but it has to be stretched so tight that it loses its elasticity. 1/8 in shock cord will be a tight fit through the eyelets of some shoes, but just use a nail or something to gouge the eyelets a little wider.
Rough times with sore feet on the track! Those shoes are all awesome, but maybe try something with extra plush in the forefoot. Hoka Clifton or Bondi are known for their cushy soles, and come in track-worthy styles. They might be the magic ticket for your runs!
I'm 43 years old, have run for 30 years, and am experiencing the same thing. For what it's worth, it seems worse in the cold. What you say about the pads in our feet getting thinner with age is interesting and something I'm going to look into more. I've found that if I can deal with the discomfort for 10-15 minutes, my feet go numb and are no longer painful. Does that ever happen to you?
I'm running in the Pegasus and Trail Kigers (Nike), Boston 11s and Adios (adidas), and Outroad 2 (Altra). I think the Altras are probably the most comfortable, but they're clunky and suitable for only easy runs. The only races I run anymore are trail or cross country, so I still wear spikes for those.
I've been thinking about switching to something like the Ultraboost or Saucony Triumphs or just running loops on a grass field. You mentioned inserts: What kinds have you tried?
My feet have gone numb in some shoes because they are too narrow in the toe box, but the Pegasus has a relatively wide toe box so that might not be the problem for you.
When I try on a pair of shoes one of the things I always do is wiggle my toes if I can't move my little toe or I can only barely move my little toe, then I don't buy them because they will cause exactly this problem you've described.
An off the shelf orthotic, like superfeet, might help with the numbness problem by giving your foot more support so there's less pressure on the ball of foot.
I've tried dozens of shoe inserts. They can absolutely make a difference, but often I have to modify the insert a little to adapt it to my chronic foot problems. When I discovered a year ago that I could buy inserts on Temu for $1.50 to $2.50, i thought about a dozen different paris of inserts and when I found one that worked well I ordered more of that particular type. Not surprisingly I found that different shoes required different inserts and virtually all of them had to be modified a little because of my existing foot problems.
Fisky, if you don't have any problems with stability / ankle rolling, you might want to give the Prime X Strung a shot (v1, if you can find it). Don't dismiss the high stack as too cushioned, even for track -- it has the best combo of bounce / cushion / resiliency that I've ever experienced in any shoe. Despite the drop, the cushioning feels much more even between fore/mid/rear than other supers that are heavy in the heel and lighter up front (VF, Asics). A bonus is the durability: have gotten 800-1000 miles out of a couple pairs with still a decent amount of bounce in the lightstrike pro.
The only bad thing about the Prime X is that it can tend to wobble at slower paces when your form gets a little sloppy, which hurts its stability. And your ankle has a long way to roll when this baby goes sideways. It's not a problem a decent pace (anything up-tempo, threshold, track, etc.) but is something to watch out for on easy days or during cooldowns.
Don't have the same sensitivity and pain as you, but I'm currently in Saucony Xodus Ultra 2s and they are one of the most comfortable shoes I've ever owned. I also use them to play golf (walking) and that's usually when my feet start to hurt. Much less so w/these. They are trail runners but I also use them for cement/street running and no issues so I would imagine would be fine on the track.
I've been thinking about switching to something like the Ultraboost or Saucony Triumphs or just running loops on a grass field. You mentioned inserts: What kinds have you tried?
53 years here, had many pairs of ultraboost and they suit me fine.
I didn't like them at first bc they are bulky and not as cushy soft as I thought they would be but the Hoka Bondi 8 are my only shoes that allow me to run 3-4 days in a row on pavement. I get that sore feeling too on the pads of my feet. I still don't think they're a fun shoe to run in, so I'm not sure about your track workouts, but you can get into a groove with them and def fine for easy funs.
Try the Aetrex insoles with the metatarsal arch. I had your problem about twenty years ago and tried a lot of things, but this finally fixed the problem. I'm a forefoot runner and the metatarsal arch seemed to spread the impact over a wider area and alleviated the problem. They're expensive however, over $70 a pair,
If you have a need for cushioning, add it UNDER the sockliner. You need a stable platform on top of the cushioning insert that won't deform into all sorts of hills and valleys. I've had luck using old, rather stiff, Hoka inserts, and I cut out a thin foam mat that I think was originally made a a yoga mat or camping ground cover? Anyway, the two work great together and I can customize them to work with any shoe I get suckered into buying.
Albeit I am only 47,but in my case almost any carbon plated shoe wrecks my feet/sole.So not using them in training.
Beside that I am running a lot easy barefoot on grass (few strides too) and running 200-400m reps in minimalist shoes Nike Streak LT,Nike Rival Waffle. Using spikes only in races.