How to keep your feet healthy this summer, even when hiking

F or the feet of exhausted workers, summer vacation has long been synonymous with "toes fanned out." But that was then. Annual hikes, mountain treks with bivouacs, morning runs in a foreign metropolis, or trail runs through the nettles: when vacation time comes, more and more people are putting their toes, arches, ankles, and everything else around them to work.

There are those who are used to running all year round. There are many of them. One in four French adults says they run regularly, according to Union Sport & Cycle, a professional union representing the commercial sports sector. The chances of these feet not taking a break this summer are high. Sometimes, their owners take advantage of their vacation to indulge in trail running, the hardcore version of running (often longer than a marathon, with elevation changes that would make an ibex pale). In France alone, nearly thirty ultra-trails (races whose distance is equal to or greater than 80 kilometers) are announced for the months of July and August 2025.

What do these feet look like? Dented but proud. On the "U-Trail" blog, an article from August 2024 asks the following question: "Why do we lose our toenails while trail running?" , specifying that "it's a recurring problem among trail runners." In short, we're expecting a few more toenail losses this summer.

The nails of weekend athletes can rest assured. They're more likely to stay in place after their owner's summer hike. At worst, the toenails on their thumbs will turn blue-black, somewhere between aubergine and navy. On the subject, Guillaume Brouard, secretary general of the National Council of the Order of Chiropodists, is reassuring: all it takes is the right reflexes to keep your nails their original color. "You have to regularly adjust the tightness of your laces during a hike, especially before a descent," he insists. "Otherwise, your nails will hit the toe of your shoe, and it's these small impacts that end up causing bruises under your nails."

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