In April 2008, I wrote a blog post titled, Embarrassed by Your Feet? Here is a quote from that post:
In the field of foot care, podiatrists and other experts are acutely aware that unattractive feet can cause significant emotional angst, driving those embarrassed about their feet to seek a solution. Dr. Nicolas Romansky, a Pennsylvania podiatrist, says that he commonly sees patients who hide their feet out of embarrassment. He says, “There’s a psychological overlay to foot problems, especially with toenails.”
A few weeks ago I received an inquiry from a reporter for the New York Times. Catherine Saint Louis asked for an interview on the subject of people being embarrassed by their feet. We talked one morning two weeks ago. She was very gracious and I enjoyed our chat. Her article came out on August 5. The title was, The Secret Is Out: We Can See Your Feet.
Catherine wrote, “More than 50 percent of women say their feet embarrass them “always, frequently or sometimes,” according to a 2008 study of 500 women by Kelton Research for the American Podiatric Medical Association.” She asked me about that number and whether it differed for athletes.
Here is my response, “Vonhof, who is part of medical teams that patch up blistered feet during grueling races, says he is skeptical that more than 50 percent of women are ashamed of their feet, as the podiatric association study found. ‘If you went into your local running store,’ he said, ‘you would get different numbers.'”
In fact, here is a photo of a runners foot taken on day four at the Raid the North Extreme Adventure Race in Prince Rupert, Canada. These are nice feet – and I know the athlete is not ashamed of them.
So I asked the question in a running store. In Colorado, while on vacation, I had the opportunity to visit the Runner’s Roost in Lakewood Colorado – it’s a great running store. Sonya Estes, one of the owners, worked with me to plan a foot care clinic. We had about 24 in attendance. They were runners, walkers, hikers, and ultrarunners. I asked the question, “How many of you are embarrassed by your feet.” Only a few raised their hands.
A friend, Heather, email me saying, “I agree with your assessment that runners have a different attitude about their feet than the general population; that is, some of them think “the narly-er the better” as they see it as some sort of weird badge of honor to beat the crap out of their feet when, in actuality, the BETTER their feet look, the smarter (better) the runner.”
She’s a smart lady. I agree with Heather. What do you think?
