• A boo for the Four Sisters •
[2 MIN READ]
Not every piece of information joins with others to make sense when we want them to. That happened when I tried to figure out how I managed to sprain the middle toe of my right foot when I wasn’t even running. The question to my podiatrist was if marathon training could have weakened my foot in such a way that made the ligaments vulnerable to hyperextension failure, i.e., spraining (this ShawmontRunningClub.com website and others). Her response was that sometimes things just happen.
Read more: Prequel (iCandybyWangC.com)
Reflecting back on the training cycle that preceded Philadelphia Marathon 2026, which itself preceded this bizarre development, led me to 2 more bits of unconsidered information. Number 1: limb-length discrepancy. This is a medical fact that’s never made it to any of my writing across 2 different running groups. A bunch of years ago, after looking in the mirror and starting to realize that my right hip was lower than my left, I got an orthopedist’s confirmation that the leg is shorter: by 1½ centimeters. Although I could have chosen to get customized shoes to compensate, my parsimonious personality insisted on heel lifts instead: 2 inserts, doubled. That was easily 10 years before the mid-life crisis that led to my running. Good thing, too, because custom orthotics would have made my running much more expensive than it’s already been with all those fancy shoes. But the heel lifting means that my foot is pretty bent on every walk and run I do. That’s not been a huge problem for that foot until fall. Number 2, that’s when my running met the Four Sisters of Manayunk. I was so thrilled to learn about this challenging historical club run that I didn’t do it once, but twice.
So let’s reflect back on what hill-climbing might do for toes that are already bent upwards because of heel lifting. It’s a wonder that all the hyperextending didn’t cause this sprain before the marathon. Two weeks after getting a steroid shot (itself 3 weeks after the injury first took place) and this thing is still causing such pain that I could only run a ½-mile last week before it started yelling at me. Now it’s time to go back to the podiatrist for an MRI. It’s also time to consult a PT, because it was probably that same limb-length discrepancy that made my left Achilles prone to rupture from the back side of that leg hyperextending relative to the right. During that injury, the PT saved me from surgery. I’m counting on those professionals to help me out this time.
Sufficient information is only part of the issue, the next part is figuring out what to do with it.
–CtCloser (Calvinthe) “Negative Split or Positive Splat” #dothedue
FINE PRINT ¶Text by Calvin Wang (Wäng), CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. ¶Cross-published: Facebook Shawmont Running Club (ZY Weekly Newsletter 1/17/26), Shawmont Running Club website, Ruminations by CtCloser. ¶This website posting: Rumination with added caption and enumeration.
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iCandybyWangC 
I loved this exploration into your issues. Despite your shorter leg and your toe sprains, you helped my daughter achieve an incredible marathon PR.
I hope the docs can figure out how to help you going forward.
It was a distinct pleasure and privilege. She earned it.