UKC

I got back into trail running after Christmas as a knee injury kept me off the bike. I took it steady, but ended up clocking between 50 and 70k a week. Nothing longer than 40k. No issues with feet. I'm an army officer, and haven't had a single blister in 8 years of running around in boots.

I went away with work and could only run once a week. Since I've come back I have started again, and my feet are falling apart.

Distance not extreme (couple of 10-20k runs a week) in the same shoes (pretty new, not tight, comfortable Salomon's). Same socks, similar terrain.

Every run I have a black toe, a blister in-between a toe, blister under my forefoot, blisters under my bloody toe. 

I can't even get a climbing shoe on anymore! It's now becoming the limiting factor in my running. 

Any ideas? 

Did these issues also come up with other shoes or have they started after switching shoes?

Might you have a fungal infection which is making your skin more prone to injury?

Any other factor which has changed your gait thus making your shoes fit differently?

Have you had any dietary changes? What you eat can have an impact in my experience. 

I hope it gets back to normal soon. 

Whilst away I ran in the road equivalent - Sonic Accelerates Vs my trail shoes which are Sense Pro's. 

No change in gait, I run pretty forefoot and have for years. I still have lots of space in front of my toes (thumbs width) in my shoes. 

Infection is an interesting idea - but no dramas aside from running. I've got back on the bike and had no issues with redness / soreness / itchiness or anything else. 

Obv there are things like chafe creams and stuff but I had no issues before...

Could be temperature seen as you started in cooler temps? Try a "skin shield" roll on type thing, just a lubricant that stops rubbing.

As for the black toe, if that was bruised your shoe is small (due to swelling in heat?) or not tied right. If it's fungal, it's fungal!

How much are you doing in boots, and what boots? When they become your foots default it can become a process to adapt to anything else because they are unlike most other footwear, especially depending what you are doing in them. It's not just the running around in them, it's the constant low & mid level activity in them too.

I've had something similar over the past 6 months or so - low-level friction on the soles of my feet, which seem to produce small areas of hard skin and then corns. Never an issue before, and lessening the mileage hasn't worked as they are also annoying me/being made worse by normal trainers day-to-day.

It isn't footwear as replaced one pair of shoes with exactly the same. I had though it could be caused by a change in running mechanics, but no other issues like knees etc. it's very annoying TBH

If your toenail (rather than toe) is turning black, that sounds like a bruise. It might be that your shoes are too tight / small and your toes hit the front when running down hill. Could also be the cause of blisters, if your toes are squashed together and rubbing. I lost both big toenails, on separate occasions, after ultras. A combination of soggy feet, mileage and bruising was to blame. I've done similar distances with wet feet, but in different shoes and been ok. I'm guessing that your boots have a bit more room than trail shoes, which would explain the difference.

Same size if not larger - the boots are just stiffer. I think what's happening is that I have quite wide feet at the forefoot, and my shoes are therefore squeezing my toes together when I run. What's weird is that these shoes are my widest ones, and I used to run in all sorts of poorly fitting footwear.

My boots and running shoes are all the same, Salomon 9.5's, which I've been wearing for years. The 10s are so long I trip over when trying to run, and can't get a stable grip. 

Inov8 have sorted out their width system, so they are measured 1(narrow) -5. I dont know how they compare with Salomon, though. Generally, shoes for ultra have a wider fit to allow for swelling.