No colours anymore I want them to turn black

Long distance runners are not known for the beauty of their feet.  We rely on those bones, joints, and ligaments to propel us forward and to provide a cushioned landing and the outcome isn’t always pretty.  After a race or a tough workout our feet may look like they’ve been to war.  And lost.  Blisters, bunions, and black toenails are just a few of the battle scars.  I, like many, survive sandal season by camouflaging my piggies with a layer of dark nail polish.   I’m too old for the goth look.  Normally my colour preferences lean toward the subtle, but subtle won’t disguise the rainbow of death hue of my big toe.  
 
The characteristic red-purple-black discolouration is the result of accumulated fluid, darkened with blood from broken capillaries, beneath the nail (a subungual hematoma).  Occasionally the nail plate will become thick and brittle (onychochauxis).  If too much fluid collects the pressure can lift the nail from the bed, eventually pushing the nail off entirely.   ‘How many toenails have you lost’ is not an uncommon question on the marathon and ultramarathon circuits.  It sounds worse than it feels.  A black toenail usually doesn’t hurt much at all (assuming it isn’t infected or grotesquely swollen), but some people opt to lance their nail with a pointy object to release the pressure.  They claim in doing so the nail won’t fall off.  I refuse to do anything best described as drilling into my toe.  Instead of self-surgery, I’ll chance the loss. 
 
Google “black toenails” and you will read a lot about the evils of ill-fitting shoes and tight socks.  In shoes size matters runners need to fit their feet for the end of the run, not the start.  This typically means a finger width of bonus room between your longest toe and the end of the shoe, plus a roomy toe box.  Poorly fit shoes can certainly lead to foot injury, but many runners in perfect fitting socks and shoes still suffer blackened toes.  Some people are simply more susceptible to back toes and women, I once read but can not find the source, are especially vulnerable.  People with a Morton’s toe (the second toe is longer than the big toe) are especially prone to injured second toes.  Other people curl their toes when they run, increasing pressure on their toe tips.  Improperly cut toenails can exacerbate the problems.  For many, black toenails aren’t a simple “if the shoe fits” problem.  Increasing shoe size, when shoes are not the problem, may actually make things worse as feet tend to slide around in clown shoes.  Footwear is indisputably your first level of defense, but may not be the cure.
 
According to Jeff Galloway, the pressure from the force of running can lead to the blackening of the toes, even if the shoe fits.  As your foot swings forward extra blood is pushed into the toe area.  Overtime your little piggies adjust to this extra blood pressure, but if your toes can’t adapt quickly enough you may end up with a dark mark (or badge of honour, depending on the circle).  Add in conditions that increase swelling, such as hot weather or lots of hills, and the strain on the toes reaches a tipping point.  I’ve struggled with black toenails twice, once after a hot weather 50K run and most recently after the hilly Boston Marathon.  My first two casualties (the piggy that went to market and the piggy that stayed home) followed the 50K.  To my surprise a wee little baby nail lies beneath the mama nail, such that you aren’t completely nailess after one goes missing.  I fear that I’m about to lose another, my last reminder of Heartbreak Hill.
 
Title Reference:  Rolling Stones – Paint It, Black.  From the album Aftermath.  1966.