This week, one RW member discovers the trouble with tootsies..."I recently changed my running shoes for a much roomier pair. However, two of my toes (next to the big toe on each foot) get numb each time I run, and the nails are getting blacker

to cultivate that nice mid-foot striking thing. (Coach has said so too.) But I've also heard that you shouldn't change whatever feels natural – and it's hard to maintain a new style. Anyone successfully altered theirs?" – LyraYour best answersChange will help

in the same place, just under my ribcage on the right. I've tried everything to stop it – not eating for 2-3 hours before a run, eating a banana half an hour before, breathing out when my left foot strikes the floor, ditto with my right, relaxing my breathing

?" – RutjosnabetYour answers...I couldn't get one foot past the other in the evening if I just had fruit for lunch! I'd suggest a mid-afternoon snack of meat or cheese sandwiches, and a banana or a couple of biscuits before your run. – VelociraptorAllsorts are just

for the off, by which time the efects of the warm-up are wasted. Secondly, and more personal to me, the effect of my nerves before a race are such that I can hardly put one foot in front of the other prior to the start of a race. If the race is 10 miles plus