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.