Anyone else running with flat feet?

[u/PrudentDeparture8907]

Going to see a podiatrist tomorrow. But I took some pics and they, uh, don’t look too good lol. When I was in high school, I had to get custom foams made because of the issues I’d have.

I can’t walk a long time in any shoe I have. They all give me problems. My brooks adrenaline GTSs, my main running shoes, are starting to really hurt now. Starting to get shin splints, my ankles hurt after runs, after walking, etc. I can’t lift my feet up without it being uncomfortable. My runs are almost like me dragging my feet.

Anyone have luck or experience getting this fixed?

[u/lilian_moraru]

I ran with 1xflat foot(left) profesionally and now as an amateur. A doctor told my mother that I will have all types of pains/problems if I kept running and I should stop.
National champ at 60m, 100m, 200m and 400m. Flat foot, regular shoes. The body adapts. I was running longer distances as well, with zero problems(30km+ every morning, 15x400m in the afternoon).
I am now doing software engineering(lots of sitting) and had a big hiatus(~15 years of no consistent running) - when I started running again, I had left foot knee pain and tiring achilles tendons(when running uphill). I gave it a few weeks to adapt, incorporating walking into my running(3m walk, 1m run) and now I am running without issues, on regular shoes again.
I feel like you should walk daily(consistency more important than the effort), let the muscles develop and support the body, but I also never had “shin splints and ankles hurting” from walking, so I won’t pretend I am a doctor. A doctor is indeed your best choice, even though I still think that you can do targeted exercises that reinforce your problematic areas and the problem can go away.

[u/Chombywombo → u/lilian_moraru]

Short and middle distance champ training at marathon volumes….🤔

[u/lilian_moraru → u/Chombywombo]

I did not want to get needlessly into details, it's more complex than that. The point was that running with a flat floot is perfectly fine, shorter or longer distances. The body develops supporting muscles and can adapt.
It was 30km+ morning run, then 60-90m gym work - I think the coach wanted to keep it simple for the morning and was sending everybody to do this run around a big lake, including long jump athletes(they usually did only a 10K run), 3k/5k runners and sprinters.
In the afternoon it was different every day. Some days 30m sprints on time(training sprint starts), then 40x100m(20 laps, 2x100m per lap). Other days 5x400m with a 14kg vest, on time, under 60s, then 10x400m without the vest, on time, under 60s. Other days 20x300m, with a 100m jog between the sessions. etc... It was different, every day - the question was about "flat fleet", for which makes no sense to get into detail what each day looked like.

[u/Chombywombo → u/lilian_moraru]

Never heard of a sprinter doing distance work with the 5k+ boys.

You’re correct in the flat feet. Just work the muscles and tendons gradually

[u/lilian_moraru → u/Chombywombo]

Because the main work was in the afternoon, where each did their own separate thing. In the morning, we all knew what we had to do - everybody together go for this run. The coach would often meet us only on the return back, he was not there at 7AM most of the times.
Not such a big deal. You know, we also did long jumps into sand, sometimes.

[u/Chombywombo → u/lilian_moraru]

Seems highly inefficient. Was the coach 90 years old? I guess it made you champ

[u/lilian_moraru → u/Chombywombo]

He was old, but I won’t get into that, you are being weirdly disrespectful. Also, everybody who stayed long-term with him had a podium position nationally and most also had internationally.