The injury: ‘I felt like my foot exploded’
Eilish McColgan has described the moment her toe injury during the London Marathon felt like her foot had “exploded”. The 35-year-old British runner, a four-time Olympian, suffered a severe blister and a “massive tear” on her fourth toe midway through the 26.2-mile race, leaving blood seeping through her running shoes and forcing her to battle on in excruciating pain.
Speaking after crossing the finish line, McColgan said: “Just not long after halfway, I had a really, really bad blister in my foot. It sounds strange saying it, but the only way I can say it is I felt like my foot just exploded. I just had this massive tear and I thought, what the hell is that? It was obviously pretty sore, but for it to happen quite early on, it panicked me a little bit.”
The injury, which effectively peeled the skin away from her fourth toe, left her unable to feel pressure through her foot during the latter stages of the race. “I couldn’t feel pressure through my foot,” she said. “Part of me was like, am I going to… It’s a long way to make it to 26.2.” The altered running mechanics also took a toll on her knee: “Especially I got to like 24 miles and my knee started playing up and sort of went on me a bit. And I thought, God, I can’t get to 24 miles and not finish it at this point.”
McColgan sought medical attention after the race due to the severity of the wound. She later explained on social media that the injury was a “freak incident” and not caused by her footwear, despite online speculation. “A lot of misinformation online about me wearing shoes that were too small or too big, or wearing new shoes, or socks for the first time. It’s all nonsense,” she said. “I wore those shoes to break a national record, European record earlier in the year, I have worn them for half marathons to set one of my fastest times. It was nothing to do with the shoes, it was just a freak incident.”
McColgan suggested that a swollen foot may have been the underlying cause. She revealed that she had suffered from a rash in the build-up to the marathon, which spread down her calves, and believes the swelling contributed to the tear. “My foot is very, very swollen. We think that is maybe why it happened in the first place,” she added.
Seventh place finish despite agony
Despite the gruesome injury, McColgan completed the London Marathon in seventh place in the elite women’s event, crossing the line in a time of 2:24:51. She was the fastest British finisher, ahead of Rose Harvey, who placed ninth with a time of 2:25:01. The race itself saw Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir claim victory in a women’s-only world record of 2:16:16, with Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa second in 2:16:23 and Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei third in 2:16:24.
McColgan, the daughter of Scottish running legend Liz McColgan—herself an Olympic silver medallist, two-time Commonwealth gold winner, and the 1996 London Marathon champion—has built a distinguished career. She holds British records in the 5000m, 10,000m, 5km, and half marathon, as well as the European 10km road record. Her path has been marked by serious injuries: in 2011 she suffered a severe navicular bone fracture in her left foot that required surgery with five screws and a metal plate, and was told she might never run competitively again. A fractured ankle on the same foot in 2015 added two more screws, and in August 2023 she was hospitalised with a spinal injury after withdrawing from the World Athletics Championships due to a knee problem.
Social media update and countering misinformation
After the race, McColgan took to social media to update fans on her recovery and to address false claims circulating online. She shared a series of gruesome images showing how the skin on her fourth toe had been entirely ripped away, and described the injury in plain terms: “The only way I can describe it is it looks like a scalpel or a knife has sliced off the bottom of my toe. So it is going to take a little bit of time to heal, but I can walk today and just keep it padded or what not.”
She emphasised the risk of infection: “Biggest thing is trying to keep infection out, because it is essentially an open wound.” Alongside the update, McColgan posted a photo of herself on the beach with her London Marathon medal, recuperating after the ordeal. She also dismissed claims that her toenails were to blame, stating that was not the case.
Reflecting on her performance, McColgan expressed disappointment that her body had not held up better, but acknowledged the mental strength required to finish. “I’m just disappointed with how my body sort of held up there,” she said. “But I just started to hurt in different areas then as well. So I don’t know if I’m like running funny through it, I assume.”
