After a marathon, peak pressure rises under the metatarsal heads and falls under the toes
The load shifts from the toes to the forefoot
Key Findings
Post-race peak pressure and impulse were higher under the forefoot regions and reduced under the toes in 200 recreational marathon runners.
The authors read the higher pressure under the metatarsal heads as a load shift from the toes to the metatarsal heads.
Practical Application
A sore or "burning" forefoot late in a long run has a plausible mechanism: as the toe flexors tire, the metatarsal heads take the load.
That makes late-race forefoot ache something to expect and manage (toe-flexor and calf strength, a shoe with enough forefoot cushioning) rather than an injury in itself — both remedies are practice, not tested here.
Pain on one spot of a metatarsal that persists after the run, or pain on pressing the bone, is a different matter and goes to a clinician (bone stress injury is not excluded by this entry).
Limitations
The abstract gives no magnitudes; the link to metatarsal stress fractures is the authors' hypothesis, not a result. Abstract only was read.