Advice
How to lace your running shoes
Once thing that is often overlooked by runners is how they lace their running shoes. Lacing your running shoes can make a big impact to the fit of the shoe and the performance. Therefore we would recommend that you lace your shoe in a manner to suit your feet.
Not a lacing method as much as a technique for creating a super-tight finish. It's often recommended for lacing running shoes to help prevent heel slippage, particularly when running downhill, as well as for trail runners to prevent any unnecessary movement or twisting of the shoe under the stresses of running off road.
All you need to do is feed the lace through an eyelet and then back through the same eyelet, creating a loop. Then feed the lace back through the loop created. Once you pull tight it will create an extremely tight closure and secure your shoe in place.
Tip: Do this on the top eyelets of your running shoes. It ensures that your shoes remain secure even if your traditional Knot loosens.
Problem: High Arch Foot.
Solution: If you have a high arch you will want to give your foot a little more height in the upper. To do this; simply run the lace along the outside from the second to the third row of eyelets.
Problem: Heel Slippage
Solution: To avoid heel slippage you need to ensure that the shoe is secured tightly at the back. Use a standard criss-cross technique missing the second row of eyelets and finish by using a Lacing Lock at the top eyelets.
Before securing your laces physically shove your heel firmly into the back of the shoe before tightening. This works surprisingly well, as many people still have their foot too far forwards into the shoe to allow it to remain secure after being tightened comfortably.
Problem: Narrow Feet
Solution: If you have narrow feet you will want to tighten the upper of the shoe securely around your feet. This can be done by adding a Lacing Lock on the 4th row of eyelets.
Problem: Wide Foot.
Solution: If you have a wide foot you will want to maximize the space in the lower & middle of the running shoe. This can be done by running the lace up the inside of the shoe from the first to the third eyelets.
Problem: Upper Foot IrritationSolution: If you find that your laces rub the top of your foot and cause irritation try the Straight Bar Lacing technique. The dotted lines illustrate the lace running underneath the eyelets and the solid line illustrate the lace coming out and across the shoe. Straight (Bar) Lacing only works correctly on shoes with even numbers of eyelet pairs (eg. 6 pairs = 12 eyelets). This is because an even number of passes across the shoe is needed for the lace ends to meet and to be tied together. Shoes with an odd number of eyelet pairs (eg. 7 pairs = 14 eyelets) finish with the lace ends diagonally opposite each other at the top of the shoe.
Please Note: Note that if your running shoes don't fit well to start with, NO lacing technique will help much. If you suffer from heel slippage, you probably have narrow feet and should buy shoes, socks or inserts accordingly.
Also, our diagrams illustrate running shoes with 6 rows of eyelets. You may need to adjust our suggestions slightly to suit your model of running shoe.