Stub Your Toes

You’d think nothing would surprise me when it comes to the strange deeds of runners, but this one has me stumped. Apparently, some ultra-marathoners are so tired of the pain and inconvenience of black toenails that they’re having their toenails surgically removed – after being loosened with acid. And of course, one of them was kind enough to post a series of photos of the procedure (not suitable for lunch).

“A lot of them look at their toenails as useless appendages,” said sports podiatrist Dr. Robert M. Conenello, “remnants of claws from evolutionary times long ago. I’ve heard them say, ‘Toenails are dead weight.’ ”

Well, that huge noggin you’re sporting is causing a lot of wind drag, why not lop it off?

Even iconoclasts like “Born to Run” author Christopher McDougall thinks this is a bit much. “You know any sport has gone off the rails when you have to remove body parts to do it,” he said.

The Sporting Blog finds the practice par for the course for an “insane person who runs 100 miles at a time for fun.”