Top 5 Mistakes Runners Make and How to Fix Them

Running injuries, slow progress, and discomfort are often not random — they come from simple but repeated mistakes many runners don’t even realise they are making.

In this episode of The Runner’s Sole Podcast, Sharon Miller breaks down the top 5 most common mistakes runners make with their feet and running habits — and more importantly, how to fix them.

From choosing the wrong running shoes, to ignoring foot strength, overstriding, increasing mileage too quickly, and neglecting basic foot care — this episode is a complete guide to understanding what is really holding runners back.

What makes this episode powerful is not just identifying problems, but giving you simple, practical fixes you can start applying immediately to run better, safer, and more efficiently.

If you’ve ever dealt with pain, frustration, or plateaus in your running, this episode will help you reset your approach and build a stronger foundation from the ground up.

🎧 IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

✅ Why choosing the wrong running shoes can affect your whole movement
 ✅ The importance of foot strength (and why most runners ignore it)
 ✅ How overstriding leads to inefficiency and injury
 ✅ Why sudden mileage increases cause pain and setbacks
 ✅ The biggest mistake runners make with foot care and prevention
 ✅ Simple exercises to strengthen your feet at home
 ✅ How to improve running efficiency step by step
 ✅ Why consistency matters more than motivation spikes
 ✅ How to prevent common running injuries before they start

👣 WHY THIS EPISODE MATTERS

Most runners focus on training harder, running more, or buying better shoes — but the real progress comes from fixing the basics.

Your feet take thousands of impacts per mile, and small mistakes repeated over time can lead to injury, fatigue, and poor performance.

This episode helps you shift from reactive running (fixing problems after injury) to preventive running (building strength and efficiency before problems start).

Fixing these five mistakes will help you run longer, feel stronger, and stay injury-free.

🔗 LISTEN NOW

🎧 https://www.buzzsprout.com/2545750/episodes/18968569

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🏃 ABOUT THE PODCAST

The Runner’s Sole Podcast is where running meets science, stride by stride.

Hosted by podiatrist and runner Sharon Miller, the show helps runners understand foot health, prevent injuries, and build sustainable running habits — especially for those who want to run stronger and stay injury-free for life.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Welcome back to the Runner Soul. This is the place where running meets science stride by stride. And as ever, I am Sharon, your resident podiatrist, and I'm also a runner, and you guessed it, a foot nerd. So we have a very exciting program for you today. Today we'll be talking about your feet. Yes, those weird-looking, overworked, underappreciated slabs of bone and regret at the end of your legs. So here's the deal. Amazing, isn't it? And that means if something is even slightly off, your body is basically repeating a mistake thousands of times. Which is a fantastic strategy if your goal is injury. So, we don't want our goal to be injury. So today we're breaking down the top five mistakes runners make with the feet without you even realizing. There are some signs, some fixes, and just enough honesty to make you question your life choices. So let's go! Mistake number one: choosing running shoes like you're picking a Netflix show. You know what I'm talking about. You walk into a store, or worse, you're in bed, scrolling online, and you go, hmm, these look good. These look like they might be fast. But here's the problem: your running shoes are not decorative. They are literally the only thing between your body and repeated impact with the ground. So, what actually happens when you do pick the wrong shoe? Well, if it's too narrow, your toes get squashed like passengers on a budget airline. We're talking Ryanair here. If it's too soft, you sink in and lose stability. If it has the wrong support, your foot moves like it's on a drunken night out. Now, what does the sign say? Your shoe changes how force travels through your body. So if you have a bad match, the stress goes to places that didn't even sign up. So how do we fix it? Well, quite simple. We get fitted properly for shoes. Yes, like an adult. Stop copying your friend's shoe choice. They are not you. And that also goes for your favorite footballer or tens player. Just make sure that your toes, not their toes, can actually exist inside those shoes to choose. So here's a professional tip. If your toes feel like they're negotiating for space, you have bought the wrong size. If you feel like you're getting some pain between your toes and you've got like little cards, yes, definitely, you have bought the wrong size. Mistake number two. Treating your feet like they're just, well, decorations. Most runners will train their quads, their glutes, your car. They realize these things are very, very important. But what they forget, what is the most important or even more important? Yes, your feet. But people just think, ah, they're just there. But meanwhile, your feet are doing the job of shock absorbers, stabilizers, spring-loaded launch systems. That's no big deal, is it? That's that's nothing. So what happens when the weak? Well, when the weak, your arch collapses like a bad folding deck chair. Your balance disappears and you get all wobbly, and your running efficiency drops. And you get slower. So basically, your body starts compensating, and that is when injuries will appear. How do we fix it? Well, the way we fix it is do some exercises. I'm going to show you some exercises that will really help breathe those foot muscles. So the first one, very easy. I want you to sit and pick up your socks with your toes. Yes, you will feel ridiculous and your kids will laugh at you, but it's a great exercise. Um, also, once you can pick up your socks, then you can try picking up a pen and then try picking up uh a cotton bud. You have to make it harder and harder. The next one I suggest is balance on one leg while you're brushing your teeth. Yes, you can multitask and also walking barefoot safely at home. So just make sure that there's nothing sharp or you know, no kiddies Lego hanging around when you're walking around. Just do a little safety check first. So here's a reality check. If your feet are weak, your fancy running plan is built on a sluggy doggy foundation. Mistake number three. Overstriden, like you think you're in a slow motion movie scene. Some runners out there, they take strides so long it looks like they're trying to step over imaginary puddles. Well, relax, you are not in an action for them. So, what over striden actually does is A, your foot lands way in front of your body, B your leg basically hits the brakes every step, and C, your joints will absorb way more impact than what is actually necessary. It's like running while gently slamming on the brakes 1500 times per mile. Also, don't think heel striking isn't evil, because let's clear this up. Heel striking is fine, aggressive heel striking in front of your body, like a dramatic entrance. That is not fine. So, how will we fix it? Well, we'll fix it by taking quicker, shorter steps and think light and quick instead of long and heroic. Slightly forward lane is best. Like you're chasing a boss, not posing for Instagram. Mistake number four: increasing your mileage like you've just had a motivational breakdown. We've all been there. You miss a few runs, watching an inspiring video, and suddenly you decide: right, I'm gonna do 10 miles tomorrow. I'm gonna make up for it. No. Your feet will say, absolutely not. What's happening behind the scenes? Well, your tissue, like your plant of fascia and bones, adapt slowly. So when you suddenly increase your loads, they don't get stronger. No, no, no, they get angry. So the result is heel pain, stress fractures, and that weird limp you pretend is just a little bit of tightness. So, how do we fix it? Well, we fix it by increasing your mileage gradually. Yes, patience is required. Another thing is alternate hard and easy days. So we're going back to those days we talked about resting, and of course, resting doesn't have to be resting. You could swim, you could do yoga, you could do pilates. And lastly, accept that your fitness is built, not rushed. Like a house, every little brick, step by step, brick by brick. The golden rule is your cardiovascular system improves faster than your feet can handle. So don't let your lungs trick your feet into disaster. And lastly, we come to mistake number five. And you guessed it, this is a big one. Ignoring foot care until something looks horrifying. Remember, prevention's better than cure. So your runner logic will think, hmm, if I don't look at it, it's not a problem. If I don't see it, it doesn't exist. Meanwhile, your poor foot is growing a blister the size of a small country toenail turning a suspicious shade of this may well fall off. And callus is building like geological layers. So what why does this matter? Well, pain changes how you run, even if you don't notice it consciously, because tiny adjustments will lead to big long-term problems. And how do we fix it? Well, we fix it by paying attention to those feet, trimming your toenails, dealing with hot spots early, keep your feet clean and dry, clean them every day, put some emoliant on, especially on your heels, and always avoid between your toes because that will encourage fungal infections. Really good. So this is very important because there is a difference between runners' feet and a medical documentary. I've given you five major dumbest mistakes to work on. Of course, there's lots, lots more, but they are the main five, the top five. And here's the truth. Your feet are doing an insane amount of work. Imagine how many times you have walked around the world, but most runners don't think about them until something was wrong. Fix these five mistakes and you will run more efficiently, reduce your injury risk, and spend less time googling why my heel feels like it's being stabbed. So thanks for listening, guys. I hope you enjoyed this episode. Share it with your friends, with your runners, who definitely need to hear it. So if you'd like to join a community of runners, sharing stories and tips, head over to our Facebook page. I'll drop the link in the show notes. And if you would like an online consultation or have any questions about force health, diabetic running, or anything and everything in between, please do visit our website. There's lots and lots of information on there. The links are in the show notes as well. So your feet are stronger than you think. And let's keep them that way.