Fat Forefoot striker needs help

Hello

I am a ladies size 7 forefoot striker and always have been. I have struggled to find shoes that my feet dont try and totaly destroy (always the feet that come the cropper).

I have measured my feet width at 255mm (is that 4ee or 2ee?) and my men's size 7.5 brooks pure connect are simply not wide enough leaving my feet hanging over the sole making a longer run very painful so I have to pad up my feet with blister plaster and bunion shields for the next run. I also have a problem with my toenails coming off every now and again, or at least hurting for a while (the ones next to big toe and they dont sit more forward that the big, just nice and neatly next to it).

I now dont care if I get barefoot or not, I just want a shoe that DOESNT HURT!

Can ANYONE help?

some typos in there, sorry 

Buy some shoes that fit your feet then.

WHERE FROM though and what sort? Ive tried SOOO many! Up and running shops havent helped at all with their range and dont have any barefoot either...

All I want to do is run and not be crippled afterwards, I can run loads but the shoes stop me 

Oh by the way, Im not fat, My FEET are fat! Im a very healthy 5'8 10.5 stone athletic build so its not my weight thats make my shoes hurt!! 

Shoes are designed along conventional lines. The manufacturers are not in the business to make shoes, they are there to make money. if the shoes don't sell, then they don't make them which is one reason size 13 plus are rare.

If your feet are an unusual shape/ build/ size then you won't get any conventional shoe to fit.

So either you have them custom built or do something else.

For what its worth I routinely cut holes out of my shoes wherever sore areas develop. Despite this, the shoes don't fall to bits.

Of course I can... 

What Im asking is: Can anyone advise on running shoes, cushioned, natural or barefoot that wont destroy my feet. Im not learning how to run properly, I can do that well, I'd just like to do with without having tons of plasters and padding in there to stop hobbling. 

Thank you RicF, I could cut them but its the actual sole (minimal anyway) that is the problem as my foot hangs over the sides thus causing pain on the under and outers of my feet. I could cut the ends off to stop my toes losing nails I suppose but its mainly the width... I think I must be a 4ee or a 2ee and probably best with a men's shoe?

Thank you Surrey, Ill have a look.

Anyone recommend Vff for this kind of thing? I do have very short toes too!

I've been using skechers gobionic recently which have a pretty massive toebox, which may work for you. Probably a few places stocking them to try.
http://www.runblogger.com/2012/03/skechers-go-bionic-review-lightweight.html

Sarah, I have feet that are wide, particularly in the forefoot. Best shoes I've found to fit my feet are VivoBarefoot Neo (not Evo - they're slightly narrower), so you might want to try those. I'm a nornal-shoe size 4 and have found I need the Neo in a 38, which is sold as size 5 (although confusingly for the Neo Trail size 37/size 4 is fine). I was going up to as long as 5.5 in other running shoes whle trying (and failing) to get the width I needed not to mash up my little toes.

They're not "pinched in" at the instep, so you shouldn't find your foot overhanging the sole. They're on sale on the Millett's website in Mens size 7-10 at £44.99 at the moment. Worth a try?

Yup, I'd also second everything that Debra's just said about the Neo, well Neo trail with respect to width. Unfortunately the sizes seem to be all over the place, so the size 45 Neo trails are a fraction too small for me, but the size 46 Breatho trails are massively oversize.

Thank you Debra (and Ian M)

It is very helpful to find someone who might have funny feet like me. The [too small] brooks I have are D width so as long as they are wider than that then they should be ok?

Would you go with the men's or the ladies' sizes (as ladies shoes arent as wide are they?) Im a size 7.5 in the brooks and have been 7 in previous but take 6-7 in normal shoes. My toes always end up at the front trying to get out and causing nail loss! 

Its a family trait aparently! 

Sarah, hi. 

I'm puzzled as to how your feet hang over the edges and ends of what; I assume, are the inner soles of your shoes.

From what I can see, the inner soles supplied with shoes fit so closely, that there are no gaps.

If of course you are using orthotics, then that is just a sizing issue. I myself had this problem and solved it by simply adding bits of other inner soles to the orthotics. 

The wonders of scissors and Duck tape.

My feet hang over the insoles, and midsoles in many pairs of inov8s. The fabric of the upper just wraps round the foot and becomes wider than the insole and midsole.
In the case of the inov8 xtalons 190s and flite 195s there's a ridge on the midsole that causes a blister where my foot sits on top of it unless I cut away the offending bit of midsole. 

have you tried bigger shoes..........i'm normally a size 7 but in my asic shoes I run in a size 9.....always have done since i started and got help at a local running shop...........

some shoes do come in extra wide........i would go to a good running shop........