As an elite runner, Tamika Williams values the health of her feet. The national record holder for the women’s 800 metres was unable to compete for two years when she ignored the advice of doctors to stay off her feet.“I had a stress fracture in two metatarsals (the long foot bones in the arch that lead to each toe) in my left foot and doctors had said I should remain off them for six to eight weeks. I ignored their advice and ran after only three weeks because I was qualifying for the Olympics,” she said. “But I later developed compensating injuries because of training on one foot that was basically broken. I put too much pressure on the other foot,” she said.

She developed hamstring tendonitis (an inflammation in the hamstring muscles in her calf) and knee joint inflammation.

“The lesson here is not to run with foot injuries,” she said.

Ms Williams, a teacher at Somerset Primary, sets a better example today. She trained in an elite team in California and sticks to stretching and massaging her feet daily. She said she stretches her calves and plantar fascia as a means of maintaining healthy feet.

Still, Ms Williams runs an average of 40 to 45 miles a week and said after a long run these muscles occasionally tighten up.

To alleviate the pain she takes a Dixie cup of ice and rolls it in the arch of her foot. “I use it in a massaging motion and that helps,” She said. “I also roll my foot on a golf ball quite a bit this helps to stretch those muscles and my calves.”

Ms Williams is a believer in preventing injury. “When I was running in California I was training with an elite team — the minute you were injured you had to go to a specialist. Preventative care is so much better than having to wait to see a specialist,” she said.

And she believes that what she wears on her feet is important.

“I try not to wear heels,” she said. At five feet four inches tall she said she finds it challenging in Bermuda to look professional without wearing them.

“I used to wear dressy sneakers because, dressing as a teacher, I was afraid to wear comfortable shoes,” she said. “But the sneakers did not work. Finally, I use better shoes. I am picky and will spend quite a bit of money making sure they are comfortable and have proper support.”

She said other people consider her favourite work shoes at the moment ‘granny shoes’.

“They are green soft leather with a soft wedge to them,” she said.

While she’s picky about her work shoes she’s a fanatic about her running shoes.

“I always make sure my sneakers fit well. In Bermuda I usually get them at the Sports Cellar. I will only buy my running shoes from a specialty running store,” she said. “I do my own research. I buy Runner’s World and look at all the latest models what is recommended the improvements made on existing models.”

Knowing that her feet pronate, she said she looks for arch support and a shoe that will stabilise her foot. Next she goes to the store and asks the advice of the sales people.

“A good person in a sneaker store will ask you to walk or run in the sneakers you are trying on, and they will watch how your foot moves in it,” she said.

She said she tries on lots of sneakers and, in the end, settles on one that is comfortable.

“I make sure I buy it a half size bigger to make room for my foot and for my toes to spread,” she said. “Once I find a really good sneaker I stick to it.”

Ms Williams currently uses Asic’s gel hyper speed for competing and Asic’s gel-1110 for training. She changes her sneakers an average of two months. “I do between 300 and 500 miles in a pair,” she said.

And finally, socks. “I spend a lot of money on socks especially for running,” she said.

She typically spends $10 on a pair and usually they’re good for a year. “I will only run in running socks, no other kind. They have to be fitted in the arches and heels,” she said.

And what does she recommend for us all to run in? “Well it depends on the person’s foot. Certain shoes are made for certain types of feet and certain brands have wider heels or narrower fronts,” she said.