Trail Monster Running

Visit the official TRAIL MONSTER RUNNING website for information on upcoming group runs, local trails, trail races and more, including the Pineland Farms Trail Running Festival and the Bradbury Mountain trail Running Series.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Screw Shoes

Although screwing shoes is frowned upon in some running circles it’s actually perfectly legal, not particularly offensive, and the result leads to more enjoyment out of winter running. I first learned about screw shoes 4 years ago from Jim, who referred me to this website. I've tried Stabilicers, and seen a lot of people using Yak Trax but I don't like the additional weight and material between my foot and the ground. Screwing my shoes seems like the perfect solution for improving traction on ice without any significant additional weight.

Even though we don't speak about such things here, I have to admit that I have been running on the roads lately and with all the snow and ice out there I've been making good use of my screw shoes. As I prepare for the GAC Fat Ass 50k this Saturday I've been closely watching the weather forecast to try to figure out what the trail conditions are going to be like in Topsfield, MA. A few days ago it looked like I would need snowshoes, but now it's looking like the trails are going to be icy so I decided that I better screw a pair of trail shoes for the run. I got out my cordless drill, a handful of hex-head sheet metal screws and set to work on an older pair of Roclite 315's.

For this screwing I decided to use two different length screws , 1/2" for the heels and 3/8" for the midfoot. Luckily the lugs on my shoes provide enough depth to receive the screws, anything shorter and I'd risk losing screws during the run. A hex-head driver in my drill made the process of getting the screws in quick and easy. I ended up putting 12 screws in each shoe, a little on the light side actually, I've had as many as 16 in each of my road shoes, but the trails I'll be running on this weekend aren't likely to be as slick as any road would be and the Roclites have great grip anyway.


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

hi Giant,

feel free to screw shoe my oldest pair of roclites as looks like i'll be needing them when I get back.

Anonymous said...

Hi Ian (aka. Giant),
I met you and your friend today at the Fat Ass 50k by the aid station. (I was the one who asked you what Trail Moster was.) I hope your 5th lap was great! Thanks to you both for turning me on to the Moeben arm warmers; they're colorful & cool!
Also, I was both relieved and glad to see you gave me some credit for the Stone Cat photos you used in your Blog. Whew. I was going to have to run you down... monster style. ;-)

I like the screws in the shoes idea... Did you feel them at all through your shoe liner?

Emily "trail pixie" Trespas

Anonymous said...

For a second there, Ian, I thought you meant that you were not wearing shoes when you ran... and I was all, wtf mate... anyways, good luck with the new shoes.
-Aurora