How Can I Beat Sore Feet on Longer Runs?

It could be an issue with shoes or foot strength.

March 14, 2013
Feet Running on Trail

I'm 50 years old, 6'1”, and 265 pounds. I run, swim, and resistance-train as a part of my overall fitness regimen. My most frequent distance is three miles. Occasionally, I'll go 4.5 to five miles. After mile four, my Achilles and feet get sore. It’s nothing too severe but it limits my distance. I feel like I can run farther, but I do not want to risk injury. I'm sure my weight is a factor. Any tips or suggestions? Thanks! –Rod

It sounds like you’ve got a great training program, but you just need a few tweaks to relieve the Achilles and foot soreness.

Here are a few things to consider. As always, if it persists, it may be time to get checked out by a doctor to make sure the pain isn’t anything serious.

  • Make sure your shoes fit and allow for the swelling that happens on longer runs. Sometimes a tightly fitted shoe can cause foot pain, and this happens as you tackle more miles.
  • Stretch and strengthen the muscles in your feet, lower legs, and core. Here is one exercise that makes a significant difference in foot strength and balance and can help ease some foot soreness.
  • Build up mileage consistently and slowly. Everyone has a training threshold, and when they cross it, form suffers due to fatigue. Try running 4.5 miles once per week and three miles the rest of the days. Once your body adjusts to that, bump it up to 4.75 miles once per week and hold it there for a few weeks. After running it once per week regularly, your body should adapt.
  • Avoid going into your long run fatigued. Take it easy the day before to rest up before you run longer. It will mean your core muscles will be ready to support you mile after mile.
  • Try interval running. It's the best thing going in running. Using intervals while covering longer distances decreases the impact on your body and increases the happiness meter. For instance, run three minutes, power-walk one or two minutes, and repeat for the duration of the long run. The key is to keep the effort level in a similar zone whether you’re walking or running, which means avoiding thinking of walking as a break but rather a lower impact bridge and one where you walk very briskly to keep your heart rate up. It works like magic. Although some believe it is “less than” running, it is definitely in the “more than” category as it allows you to run stronger for longer.

Your body is talking to you on your longer runs and that simply means listening and modifying your plan so you build the distance without the risk of injury. Keep running strong.

Happy Trails.



Meet me on Twitter.