These Blisters Will Haunt Your Nightmares
Truly disgusting. Like, vomit-inducing disgusting. But well earned, runners!
Oh, the dreaded blister. Whether it’s a poor-fitting pair of shoes, the wrong socks, or just a hot long run, you never know when a truly bad bubble may pop up. And they can be debilitating—taking you out of the running for days, or even longer.
We asked our readers to share photos of their worst run-ins with blisters—and you did not disappoint. Here are some of the best of the worst blisters—popped or not.
RELATED: These Are the Ugliest Runners’ Feet You’ve Ever Seen
(Thank you to all who shared your blister photos. If you have a photo you would like to share, please do so here.)
After looking through these, you may want to learn how to prevent and treat this ailment so you don’t end up sidelined like these runners.
Bridget Mitchell
“My team named it the “bacon blister.” I couldn’t run for one and a half weeks until it healed.”
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“I had to finish the last six and a half miles of the Timberman Half Ironman with these bad boys on my feet. It was like stepping on hot coals—but I finished.”
“For me, any run over three miles results in these. I have tried everything (twin skins socks, Vaseline, compeed blister plasters, tape, and sudocrem) to no avail.”
“My first full marathon, plus the Arizona heat, equals blisters that shoot 10 feet across the room when popped!”
“I had just finished running the Boston Marathon—these were the result.”
“This honker went down my whole arch. I got it after completing my first 10-miler.”
“After running my first 50K trail race on an unseasonably hot day through the Ohlone Wilderness on the East Bay in California, I removed my shoe to discover a whole family of blisters had moved in. The uber steep descents caused my shoes to rub in a completely new and different location—on the top of my foot!”
Stacy Dixson
“These are the blisters I discovered after the 2015 Philadelphia Marathon where I ran a 16 minute PR. I had no clue they were there until I took off my shoes—then they hurt! I had to wear slippers in the car back home to New Jersey.”
RELATED: Find your next perfect pair of kicks with our new RW Shoe Finder Tool.
“I ran my first marathon ever at the 2017 Boston Marathon, and I got blisters over my callouses. And then, the entire callous on my toe came off!”
Dan Gordon
“There is no such thing as ‘powering through’ blisters—it doesn’t exist. It’s not a thing. Listen to your feet. If you start to get hot spots—stop, and turn back. Your feet and life are worth it.”
RELATED: The Ultimate Foot Care Kit
“Got a nice one on my last long run three weeks before the 2016 Kentucky Derby Marathon. However, I still managed to run and finish the race!”
“My blistered little toe after running the London Marathon in 2016.”
“My first blister after completing the Shamrockin’ 2017 Half Marathon. Yuck!”
“A really bad blister...”
“The blood blister that surfaced following the Grand Rapids Riverbank Run 25K.”
“A bad blood blister I got after running the 2017 Boston Marathon.”
“This is a picture of my blister after my trainer removed the top layer of skin. Here’s a bit of advice: don’t abruptly change the model of your shoes. Your feet might not appreciate it!”
“Here, my father is holding my heal and taking a photo of a blister that I got from my spikes during a hot 6K college cross country race.”
“My feet turned to hamburgers last summer while I covered 160 miles between Utah and Colorado as part of the MS Run the US Relay. This was only some of the blisters I acquired.”
“A very, very bad blister. I felt it early on, but I continued to run—which for the next week I regretted. The skin completely slid away exposing the raw skin underneath.”
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