Published on November 4th, 2026
Somewhere around week eight of a marathon build, a lot of us start bargaining with a sore foot. It’s fine on the warm-up and aches after the long run, so you tell yourself a couple of easy days will sort it out. Sometimes they do!
When they don’t, see a podiatrist. If you’re building towards the Melbourne Marathon in October, your biggest weeks land in the middle of winter. A niggle that starts in July has plenty of time to get worse before race day.
Normal soreness or something more?
Some foot soreness comes with marathon training. Tired arches after a long run, or tight calves the next morning, usually ease within a day or two of easy running. That’s your body adapting to more load.
Pain that follows a pattern is different. Maybe it turns up in the same spot every run. Maybe it takes a little longer to settle each week. Either way, the training has got ahead of your recovery.
You can add load without noticing. A common example: the kilometres climb, and your long run drifts from the soft gravel of the Tan to the sealed paths of the Bay Trail.
Warning signs that foot pain needs more than rest
Book an appointment instead of waiting it out if any of these sound familiar:
Sharp pain under your heel with your first steps out of bed, which eases as you move and comes back after sitting. This is the typical pattern of plantar fasciitis.
Stiffness or pain in your Achilles that is worst in the morning or at the start of a run.
Pain in one spot on the top of your foot that hurts when you press it and gets worse as you run. Stop running and get this checked quickly, since it can be a stress fracture.
Pain that makes you change the way you run, even a little.
Watch that last one. Once you start favouring one foot, the other leg picks up the extra work, and a sore heel can turn into a sore knee or hip.
My rough rule: if a week of lighter running hasn’t helped, see someone. Don’t save it for after the race. Six weeks out, you have room to change the plan. Two weeks out, you may be deciding whether to start at all.
Booking a podiatrist in Melbourne
You don’t need a GP referral. Podiatrists are primary healthcare practitioners in Australia, so you can book one directly, and most private health extras policies pay a rebate depending on your level of cover.
Whoever you book, ask two questions. Do they see runners every week? Will they watch you run on a treadmill? A walking check alone can miss what happens at race pace.
South of the river, you can book a running assessment at the Up and running podiatry clinic in Port Melbourne or Elsternwick. Bring the shoes you train in, not the clean pair from the cupboard.
Take your training plan or your watch data along too. “The pain started the week I added a second hill session” gives the podiatrist far more to work with than “it’s been sore for a while.”
What the podiatrist might suggest
Often it comes down to a change in your weekly load and a strength program for your calves and feet. Some runners also leave with different shoes or orthotics.
Plenty of runners get no orthotics at all. They walk out with calf raises and a softer long-run route. If you do get orthotics, ask how long they expect you to need them.
For heel or Achilles pain that has hung around for months, some podiatrists use shockwave therapy. It usually takes a few sessions spread over several weeks, so it suits a long build better than the final month before a race.
Going back to full training after the appointment
Stick to the plan you leave with, even when your foot feels fine three days later. That’s usually when runners overdo it and end up back where they started.
Missed two weeks? Don’t jump to wherever your plan says you should be now. Repeat your last good week and build from there.
Trial new shoes or orthotics on a couple of easy 5 km runs before you take them on a 30 km long run.
For tendon pain such as Achilles trouble, use a simple check. Pain of about 2 or 3 out of 10 during a run is usually okay, as long as it has settled by the next morning. If it’s worse the next day, cut back and tell your podiatrist.
If you run out of time before October, Melbourne isn’t the only marathon on the calendar. Ask your podiatrist how long the rebuild will take, then pick a race that fits it.