I’m curious as to what “snugness” ST’ers tighten up their laces on their running shoes. For years I have never unlaced or laced them keeping them snug enough to not come off my foot and loose enough for me to be able to slide them off and on without lacing them. Any recommendations or watch outs for lacing up running shoes? Can a loose shoe contribute to running injuries?
I leave the laces fairly relaxed all the way up until the top. When I tie them I’ll cinch just the top so the shoe doesn’t slide back and forth but I have plenty of room for the feet to expand in the shoe.
I keep mine about the same as you. Loose enough to slip on and off. When I walk in them, I actually feel them slip on my heel a little bit. I’ve tried tightening them up and either my arch begins to hurt and cramp, or they cut off circulation and my foot goes numb. Yes, I’ve been professionally fit more than once. No blisters or injuries…yet knock on wood
quite tight for, tight enough I can’t slip them off without untieing them. I have narrow feet so If don’t sung them up all the way to the toe my feet are all over the place. This is tight enough that I don’t get any heel slip walking or running. I am mostly running 10km or less so I don’t have much worry of my feet swelling while I run.
I keep mine loose enough that I can slip in and out of them without loosening the laces. I use 'em the same way in transitions. I actually tried the elastic laces or locklace type systems and felt that the compression of the laces was very uncomfortable and annoying since I’m so used to running in not-so-tight sneakers.
And no, your loosish shoe will not contribute to running injury - at least I’ve never seen any real scientific data suggesting so. As long as it’s not literally flopping off your foot, you’re fine.
For longer distance like HIM or IM, you probably should prefer looser shoes actually since your feet can expand with the upright position for hours. It’s a very common mistake for rookie marathon runners to overtighten their shoes on race day ‘just in case’, and they get blisters that they’ve never gotten before even on their long training runs.
I actually prefer tighter across the instep, and loose across the toe box. So, I tie a knot (until I got locklaces…see below) in the laces after lacing through the third eyelets (from the toe). That way when I cinch down the laces and tie them, the tension stays in the instep and doesn’t distribute down to the toe box.
I just switched to lock-laces about a month ago, and have been pleasantly surprised how loose I can keep them and still keep the shoe from slipping on the heel. I can actually wiggle the “lock” back and forth about 3/8" because of the slack. And yet, my heels stay firmly planted in the shoe, and I have plenty of room in the toe boxes.
Hello Tom-hampton and All,
I do this too … but pull my lace lock tight across my instep … leaving my toes room to move around easily.
I actually prefer tighter across the instep, and loose across the toe box. So, I tie a knot (until I got locklaces…see below) in the laces after lacing through the third eyelets (from the toe). That way when I cinch down the laces and tie them, the tension stays in the instep and doesn’t distribute down to the toe box.
I use a torque wrench, gotta be accurate. 6 N-m
If my kids take their shoes off without untying them, I take their computer away for a week.
“like”
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If my kids take their shoes off without untying them, I take their computer away for a week.
D’Kid almost only wears Chucks: easy to slip off, but a bitch to slip on, so she does untie them
I’ve tried to convince her to get some Vans Slip-ons , but she’s just not Spicoli enough
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after a very annoying bout of extensor tendonitis from overtightening while marathon training this past offseason, i now go just tight enough to keep my foot from moving around which doesn’t take much
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I’ve been struggling with blisters, metatarsaglia, PT for a number of years. Did all 5 of my IMs in Asics Nimbus and tried fast ties, loose laces, tight laces, D width and EE width shoes and always ended up with ridiculous blisters and lingering foot pain. You know the kind of blisters I’m talking about…the kind of blisters my two sons (13 and 11) can’t wait to watch me pop sitting in the bathroom just after getting back from the finish line and right before opening that first iced cold IPA. As soon as I enter the room, my boys are begging me to take off my sneakers so they can get a masochistic look at my shredded feet. Then I alcohol my feet down the popping begins to their sheer delight. They particularly enjoy the blisters under the toe nails. Anyway, I digress. I finally have switched to Hokas and think I may have solved the blister enigma. Fingers crossed.
I’m curious as to what “snugness” ST’ers tighten up their laces on their running shoes. For years I have never unlaced or laced them keeping them snug enough to not come off my foot and loose enough for me to be able to slide them off and on without lacing them. Any recommendations or watch outs for lacing up running shoes? Can a loose shoe contribute to running injuries?
I have used speed laces on all my running shoes for the last 4 years and love them. They are “tight” enough to keep my foot from sliding, but loose enough that I can slide them off with minimal effort. Not only does this save me from having to tie them the same way every time (not to mention the time savings in T2), the elasticity of the laces give room during long runs for foot swelling without hurting. I can’t recommend them enough.
I prefer Yankz.
I tie mine so I can juuuuuuust slip my feet in and out without undoing the laces. Off road is different, but most of the time they’re pretty loose, mainly to allow as natural foot movement as possible.
I have been tying mine as loose as possible. I got new shoes (same make and model as last pair) and did not loosen up the laces much on my first run. I developed pain on the top of my foot (extensor tendonitis I suspect), and the pain got progressively worse until I took an entire week of running to let it heel. I suspect this was simply due to them being tied too tight. During that time, and thereafter, I have been tying my shoes super loose, just enough to avoid heel slippage and everything feels great. My advice based on tight shoes costing me a week of running in the end is to go as loose as you can get away with. I am sure I could slip into them, but never do.