Why Your Ankles Hurt During Peak Marathon Mileage (and How to Fix It)

It's finally here:

peak marathon mileage, where heavy weeks with long runs and intense workouts test your body and push your fitness to the limits.

But your ankles have something to say about it.

Maybe it’s your right ankle with a nagging tenderness you’ve noticed developing on your past couple runs.

It’s not exactly painful, more of an annoying soreness that makes you say “oof” out loud on an easy 5-miler, leaving you mildly embarassed.

You stretched before and after, you’ve got well-fitted shoes, your form is solid… so why does the ache keep coming back, especially after long runs?

And the bigger question: is this the beginning of a running injury? Do you ignore it? Run through it? Rest it? Strengthen it?

If you’ve wondered whether weak ankles, overtraining, or the wrong shoe are doing you dirty, you’re not alone.

In this blog, let's break down exactly why ankle soreness shows up during peak mileage, and what you can do to fix it without derailing your training.

The Most Common Cause of Ankle Pain in Marathon Training

During marathon training, when you begin moving away from base building and start increasing mileage with long runs and adding intensity with speed work as you get closer to peak week, it’s normal for your ankles to speak up and feel a little achy or tender.

I tell my runners that's often their body "talking" to them since our body doesn't have any other form of communication beyond the sensation of pain.

But that doesn't mean we ignore ever ache or niggle until we're limping.

We always want to look at tenderness or achiness with the entire picture in mind. Yes, part of it can be weakness in the muscles and tendons, but more often it’s that those tissues are adapting to a load greater than they’ve experienced before.

Running itself does strengthen your lower-leg “teammates”. It accrues a strength called stiffness, the ability of your soft tissues to store and release energy like a spring. But once you go beyond your “regular” capacity, that baseline strength and stiffness can become exceeded.

When this occurs regularly without proper and/or strength training, that’s when you begin to notice accumulating soreness, achiness, that little “niggle,” or even a general sense of weakness in the ankle.

The solution isn’t only to slow your mileage build or take more rest days (though those matter).

The real key is adding running-specific strength training for your ankle throughout your marathon cycle.

That’s why resistance training is so powerful for runners; it’s your cheat code to helping your ankles adapt faster, perform better, and avoid the frustrating cycle of injury-recovery-injury.

But here’s the catch: 100 calf raises or random internet ankle drills aren’t enough. They might help temporarily, but the real gains, stronger ankles, less pain, more speed, come from a comprehensive plan designed specifically for runners.

So, to get you started, here’s a quick 13-minute ankle circuit that includes the TWO types of strength training you need to build stronger, injury-resistant, faster ankles.

How to Fix Ankle Pain and Keep Training

Plyo Circuit:

2-4 sets each // LIGHT & medium weights

Switch Lunge Jumps

• 6-8 reps EACH side

Runner's Lunge Front Foot Lateral Plate Hops

• 6 reps moving L, 6 reps moving R

Strength Circuit:

2-3 sets each // LIGHT & medium weights

Single Leg Bridge on Wall: Soleus Calf Raise

• Reps X weight

Big Toe Resisted Calf Raise

• 12 Reps with medium-heavy theraband under big toe

• 2 seconds UP : 3 seconds DOWN

Runner's Lunge Soleus Calf Raise

• 12 reps ea side

Preventing Ankle Pain in Future Training Cycles

PLYOS: Switch Jump + Lateral Plate Jump

• If you're thinking of skipping these...no you're not, honey boo.

• THE SECRET: if you've ever had an ankle sprain (even a tiny one) achilles tendinopathy, post tib issues or plantar heel pain, you need these. No ifs, ands, or butts.

• Plyometrics add the intensity-stimuli you need for the physiological response to build stronger, stiffer, "tougher", springier tendons. Yes, slow heavy lifting does this. We'll get to that. But this is often the missing piece of the puzzle that runners don't know about that would drastically help clear up repeat injuries.

• Please use common sense: if you are VERY ouchy right now, do not do these. I've listed these first in the circuit because plyometrics, when programmed correctly, should be done FIRST before strength training.

Single Leg Bridge on Wall: Soleus Calf Raise

• This is to replace your other knee-bent calf raises

• THE KEY: these work best with socks off. I want you to focus on driving through your big toe as you perform your calf raise.

• It's true: this might not be high-effort, but it's an incredibly helpful exercise for the runner who can't feel or find their soleus. I also LOVE how this resembles running, but but on your back, placing you in a position that reminds your soleus how to work during your stride.

Big Toe Resisted Calf Raise

• I know this doesn't look like much, but there's a method to the madness.

• PRO TIP: the band that's under your toe needs to be ON STRETCH, meaning it's gotta be taught. As a result, if during your calf raise you off-load from your big toe, that band is going to snap away.

• The purpose of this exercise: yes, calf raises are important, but they're incredibly easy to cheat. This is one more tool to help ensure that you're weight bearing evenly throughout your toes, but with an emphasis on stability and drive through your big toe.

Runner's Lunge Soleus Calf Raise

• I personally really like these. And if your leg shakes like mine, that's ok.

• THE REASON: remember the bridge knee bent calf raise above? This is a progression, meaning a harder version. We took you from lying on your back to standing, and placed your legs a very loooong stride. Now you're actively weight bearing, and balancing, during your calf raise. And it's so much more running-specific than the weird looking squat versions.

• In case you get the shakes too: this is your nervous system saying "whoa now, this is something new!" You're not going to break or get injured. Take your time and work on controlling the reps. I'm right there with you.

WRAPPING UP

Here's where you promise me you'll do the plyometrics.

Because that's the BIGGEST mistake I see runner's make: they skip the plyos.

I get it.

They're new, hard, maybe a little scary because it involves jumping and moving fast...

And how much of that do we do as a adults anymore?

And that's exactly the point.

Plyometrics are another form of strength training and one that we desperately need as runners since plyos directly strengthen connective tissues such as tendons and ligaments. In addition, they also help build more powerful muscles which translates to faster paces and stronger finishes.

So I need you to take a chance.

I need you to let go and just play.

Because that's how I want you to think about plyometrics.

They don't have to be perfect to work.

By simply learning them, exposing your body to them, you're already making progress, progress you wouldn't make otherwise if you never tried.

It's ok for them to feel clunky and awkward. They feel funky to me too sometimes because often, I'm learning right alongside you.

But I can promise you this: plyometrics are the unsung heros of fixing ankle pain.

So give them a try.

And just do what you can do.

If you've got more than weak-feeling or niggly ankles and are on the hunt for immediate relief from unstretchable, tight calves, I got you.

Check out my Calf & Achilles Cure Toolkit where I give you my favorite physical therapy tips and tricks on how to fix and prevent your calves from locking up again:

Get Access to the FREE Calf Cure Here!

Dare to Train Differently,

Marie Whitt, PT, DPT //@dr.whitt.fit