Preventing blisters

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DeeGee Jul 2012 10:03pm, 2 Jul 2012 12,228 posts	0 DeeGee I've posted this elsewhere, but I'll try it in its own thread... Yes, I know that blisters come with the territory, but I thought I would bounce this around and see what happens. True to form, having run a marathon yesterday, I have a blister on the second smallest toe of my right foot. That is my fifth marathon of the year, and the fifth blister. I was not racing, merely running at training pace. I knew I would be getting it, because, as usual, about 13 miles in, a hot spot developed on my toe which, once I got shoes and socks off, turned out to be a blister So why am I telling a forum full of runners this, this is nothing unique to me!? Thing is, I run 18+ milers at the weekend as a matter of course, often faster than the 8.40 ish/mile that I ran yesterday, sometimes slower. I wear the same shoes and socks, same shoelaces, laced the same way. I never get a blister in training. I have used different generations of the same shoe, and different generations of different shoes, with no problems training, but once I run a marathon, I can guarantee the return of the usual blister. The only cause that I can identify is pinning a number onto myself! Am I just incredibly unlucky? Anyone got any advice?
SpicedApple Jul 2012 10:14pm, 2 Jul 2012 6,083 posts	0 SpicedApple It's all in the head. Have you tried putting vaseline between your toes? It feels a bit funny at first, but I've hardly had any blisters since doing it.
DeeGee Jul 2012 10:28pm, 2 Jul 2012 12,229 posts	0 DeeGee I might try vas. I've got a nasty feeling that it might be the shape of the afflicted toe itself that might be an issue. There's nowt I can do about that, though.
swittle Jul 2012 10:31pm, 2 Jul 2012 18,397 posts	0 swittle Another vote for Vas Many moons ago, a rugby coach told me only hard skin blistered, so using Vas makes sense in that context. Make sure shoes & socks are free of fine grit or sand before applying.
SpicedApple Jul 2012 10:32pm, 2 Jul 2012 6,084 posts	0 SpicedApple If it's always the same toe, then you might have to hack it off. (I used to get blisters in the same spot, but a generous helping of vaseline seems to do the trick unless I run in wet socks for very long.)