Ultra-Serious about Ultra-Marathons
New York (Global Adventures): Getting serious about your favorite sport can also mean going to the extreme. Many ultra-marathoners have their battered toenails surgically removed — for good.
“From my experience, it’s the hard-cores” who choose to go without toenails, said Dr. Paul R. Langer, a Minneapolis podiatrist who has been on the medical team for a 250-kilometer 7-day race through the Gobi Desert. “Even within the ultra community, less than 10 percent or maybe even 5 percent are permanently removing their toenails.”
UltraRunning magazine estimates 17,000 ultra-marathoners nationwide. Marshall Ulrich of Idaho Springs, Colorado had all his toenails surgically removed in 1992. He used to stop mid-race to poke a hole in a throbbing nail to relieve pressure. Now, he said, toenails are “one less thing to have to deal with.”
Plenty of distance runners lose their toenails repeatedly. For some, it can be a badge of honor, proof of miles logged and the repetitive toe-banging they have endured. The proud wear hats and T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan “Toenails are for sissies.” However, permanent removal is not risk-free. Sometimes a bulbous shape will form on the toe tip, making nerves more sensitive and leaving the toe vulnerable to sores or calluses, according to Dr. Langer.
Still, for some, the surgery is worth it. “It sounds bad, but it’s really not, because it solves all your problems,” so Roy Heger of Medina, Ohio, an ultra-marathoner who had his big left toenail permanently removed to avoid mid-race patch-ups at medical tents.
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