One of the most common injuries I see runners get is…chafing and/or blisters!I know I know, you may think a bloody nipple tis but a scratch and it’s not something glorious like achilles tendonitis or shin splints, but it’s a rather annoying injury that can occur fairly easily and acutely.Recently I did a long road run with 4 miles of 8-10% grade drop recently and I had some chafing on my heel because I foolishly selected a pair of shoes with a rather high and stiff heel collar and dang that started to hurt!Just last week during a group run we were talking about blisters or toenail problems from shoes being too short, which can cause the nails to hit the front of the shoe or rub against each other and cause blisters between the toes.Blisters, chafing, and hurt toenails don’t result from poor training choices, but poor gear choices!Selecting shoes of the proper fit for your foot shape, selecting footwear that will work for the particular terrain, and wearing material that won’t chafe you all go a long ways towards preventing these wounds.It simply takes some mindfulness to be aware of why and how these happen to you. Not forgetting to lube with chafing cream, for example, is an incredibly easy way to prevent chafing between your legs or on your waist. Wearing Injinji toe socks can help prevent blisters between your toes. Trimming your toenails can help prevent them from becoming damaged and turning black and falling off! Simple strategies that can be easy to implement but also easy to forget. What’s a tool or tactic you’ve learned the hard way to implement to prevent these minor injuries?-Coach Kyle
