Trail shoes 😍 but advice about lacing needed

[molly1973]

Got some lovely trail shoes delivered today: I love them! However, I am a bit unsure about the lacing. They have these groovy speed laces which I thought would be a good idea with muddy shoes, but the laces are short and widely spaced. I have a high arch and mid-foot and the shoes were a bit of a struggle to get on as the opening wasn’t very wide for my wide and high foot. Once in they are very comfy but I’m not sure that the lacing is going to keep my foot in the shoe well enough. I’m probably not going to be running huge distances in them, but quite possibly 10k.

Does anyone else have experience with these sort of laces? And yes, I know I should have gone to a running shop and got advice, but I spent a lot of time researching on line and went for these as they were in the sale and my budget wouldn’t stretch to a specialist shop this time. I know my foot shape and needs re. neutral/cushioning, so I thought I could get away with it 🙄🙄

[roseabi]

I use those type of laces for the lightweight road shoes I wear for short runs and triathlons, and they're great for that. You should be able to loosen them to get your foot in, and then tighten them again once in, by squeezing the plastic toggle near the tongue of the shoe and moving it up or down the loose part of the lace.

But if I were you I think I'd replace those on your trail shoes with some regular laces and play around with the configuration - some ideas here: runrepeat.com/top-10-runnin...

Also, if you're going to be running downhill a fair bit you'll probably want to tie heel locks. In case you don't know what that is, this isn't how I would prefer to do it, but it explains the principle: locklaces.com/blogs/resourc...

[molly1973 in reply to roseabi]

Thank you, roseabi! Sorry I wasn’t clear: even fully loosened they are a squeeze to get in! I have faffed around and think I’m getting there with the tension. I hadn’t thought about replacing them with normal laces: I have no idea to be honest how I’d get the quick release ones out? I’ll give them a bash for now. I think part of the problem is the space between the eyelets: my Brooks are much closer together which stops the tongue from bulging through the gaps. Thanks for your thoughts x

[roseabi in reply to molly1973]

Scissors. 😄

But yes, of course see how you get on with them first 😊😊😊

[molly1973 in reply to roseabi]

Eek!! I presumed they could be swapped out and back in if you wanted! I won’t take scissors to them yet!! Hopefully giving them a try out later today

[roseabi in reply to molly1973]

Yeah, that clip on the very end of the laces will probably come off (with a bit of a fight), and then you should be able to slide the toggle off and remove the laces. They tend to be a bit tricky to thread back on again, but it's doable 😊 But if the laces turn out to be no good it's easier just to snip them off.

[Irishprincess Graduate10]

I have similar spacing on my Sauconys, you get used to them. I sometimes use a long skewer or similar to tighten the laces from the top. If they are loose around the ankle then make sure you use the very last hole as this keeps the shoe snug around the ankle. I see yours are only on the penultimate hole. You'll maybe need different longer laces which is why I always keep the laces from my old worn shoes 🙂

[molly1973 in reply to Irishprincess]

Good idea, saving old laces l! I’ve tried lacing through the last hole before and it’s usually too tight across the front of my ankle. I knew I had wide feet before getting into this running shoe buying lark but I’ve developed a whole new understanding of my foot shape now! I’m going to give them a try out today and have a play with tension on the laces and see how it goes. Thank you 😊

[Irishprincess Graduate10 in reply to molly1973]

Also try experimenting with different brands of shoe (over time obviously 😕) I've found The Sauconys quite shallow in the foot compared to say Brooks or Nike.

[runwithdog Graduate10]

the top 2 holes-there is a way of doing these to lock the laces.

lots of info if you google it.

[molly1973 in reply to runwithdog]

Thank you. I’m not ready to cut out the current laces just yet, but I think I faffed about and got things nearly right on my test run yesterday 👍