Tip #5: Lace Up Right

Published on 11:59 pm by in Project, Run

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I know it sounds corny, but it’s true. I can tell the instant I have left the house with poorly tied shoes. Maybe I was in a rush, maybe I was multitasking, etc. Whatever the reason, I need to stop and fix’em…and I do. Very few things can actually stop me during a run…and this is one of them. Nothing like a loose pair of laces to make your $100 kicks pretty much useless.

The trend today is to easier and faster, so you see some lace-replacement systems on the market. From my experience, I prefer how real laces support my shoe and hold my foot in place. Those elastic contraptions give my oversized feet too much leeway to move, resulting in pretty substantial friction. No blisters to speak of…just hot feet.

Hacking Your Shoelace
Here is my real world lace tying suggestion. It’s simple, it doesn’t come undone on it’s own, it’s easy to undo and…it’s just your plain old laces! Watch the video for the full lace breakdown. Note how I pass the lace loop and excess lace through the opening  second time…this is what does the trick!

  • amg

    I can’t quite figure out what you mean when you say you’re pass the lace loop and excess lace through the opening second time – I sort of see what you mean, but I can’t make my fingers do it.

    My favorite lace tying style is similar to the “Better Bow”
    http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/betterbowknot.htm
    Just do a regular knot except do two loops around the initial loop before continuing with the pulling the loop through. This requires very little extra effort and results in a knot that comes undone with a pull but rarely comes undone at other times.

    I experimented for a while with the “Ian Knot” after it was featured in Runner’s World, but I found that if I didn’t get it quite right, the knot would come undone too easily.
    http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/ianknot.htm

    I admit to having the elastic laces for the shoes I wear for triathlons – I have absolutely zero coordination when I get off the bike, so the less fumbling, the better.

    P.S. Hi kitty-cat!

  • Steve

    Do you need a cat to help us or can we do it by ourselves?

  • pjm

    The cat is totally optional. :) Heck, JT is why I mess up my shoelacing in the first place…always attacking my hands!

  • Joe Ruiz

    That’s pretty slick! Never thought of it and it beats the double knot. That is such a pain to undo!!!!!!