Don’t Go Breaking My Heart

The competitors in the Boston Marathon had their first shot at heartbreak hill after a 2.5 year hiatus due to COVID. October 11 was the 12th running marking the Boston Marathon as the world's oldest marathon. Kenya took both the men's and women's titles with Benson Kipruto winning the men's in a time of 2:08:51 and Diana Kipyogei winning the women's in 2:24:45.

Foot structural changes during marathon running

Besides the anticipated delayed onset muscle soreness, there is science that shows that our arches sag under the load of the repetitive impact. Transient lowering of the arch, measured using foot dimension, including the navicular height, were measured using a 3D foot scanner. In this study, there was a correlation between navicular height and plantar fascia thickness. It appears that long-distance running can induce transient lowering of the arch through reduction of stiffness in the proximal plantar fascia.

How long until the arch changes recover?

For the untrained athlete, at least eight days are required for the arch, as measured by navicular height, to regain its pre-activity height following marathon running. Some research supports low-dye taping to unload the plantar fascia thickness, but nothing in the test condition of 26.2 miles!