I have run 20 marathons and am training for #21. After a 20 miler, my shin hurt. I took a day off and ran again and it hurt pretty bad a couple of times, but then was manageable for the rest of the 8 miles. I freaked out a bit after reading about stress fractures and went to see my doctor, a podiatrist who also runs marathons. He took an x-ray (for future reference) and told me there was no way to tell really unless I do an MRI. He put me in a boot and I have worn it most, but not all, of the time. The site is still sore but I seriously have no pain unless I press on it. However, the point that hurts seems to move around just a bit. I really cannot tell if it is the bone or the tendon or muscles. The site gets a tad red and has some swelling, but not horrible swelling. The thing is, it does not hurt at all to walk or to hop up and down. I can go up stairs just fine. The only time I feel anything at all is dorsiflexing my foot. If I do that at the end of the day after walking around all day, I can feel a tiny bit of discomfort, but probably only because I am looking for it. When I wake up in the morning, there is literally no pain. As the day goes on, pain does not come but I get awful crepitus (creaking) in my shin when I flex my foot up and down. I go back to the doctor on Thursday, and will probably opt for the MRI if he thinks it is necessary. This thing I'm most worried about is the creepy crepitus. Has anyone has this with a stress fracture or would that indicate tendonitis more? I've not run in two full weeks and the crepitus is no better. Any ideas? Thank you!