How to Lace Your Running Shoes Properly: The Complete Guide

Lacing your running shoes: a crucial detail

Often overlooked, lacing is nevertheless a crucial part of running shoe fit.

✓ It contributes to overall comfort. Laces that are too tight create pressure points across the top of the foot. If they’re too loose, they can cause friction, potentially leading to blisters, as well as a lack of support.

✓ It contributes to support and stability by locking the heel in place and holding the midfoot securely. Properly laced shoes also reduce the risk of an ankle sprain.

✓ It can be tailored to your foot shape and personal preferences. Beyond choosing the right shoe size, lacing allows you to adapt the fit to different foot shapes, potential issues and the sensations each runner prefers.

The fundamentals of optimal lacing

Put simply, lacing comes down to four key points:

• Use the right tension: the challenge is finding a tension that’s neither too tight nor too loose. As a rough guide, once the laces are adjusted, you should be able to slide a finger between the tongue and the laces.

• Aim for symmetry: keeping similar lengths of lace on either side helps ensure even tension.

• Choose the right length and material: laces that are too short rule out certain techniques, while flat laces often stay tied better than round ones. Elastic laces are also available and particularly useful in triathlon because they speed up the process of getting your shoes on, although they offer less precise adjustment.

• Tie a double knot: it’s easy to do and keeps your lacing secure.

A few common mistakes are easy to avoid:

✓ Leave long lace ends dangling : a great way to trip! Tie a double knot, tuck the ends under the laces or place them in the shoe’s lace pocket, if it has one.

✓ Tighten only at the top : tension should build progressively from the forefoot upwards.

✓ Ignore the extra eyelets : they’re there to lock the heel in place.

✓ Never change your lacing : it makes sense to adjust your method depending on the workout, whether it’s intervals or a long run, the weather, since feet swell in hot conditions, and the terrain, whether road, trail, flat or hilly.

8 essential lacing techniques

Technique 1: standard criss-cross lacing

➜ A versatile everyday technique for runners without any particular foot issues.

➜ How to do it: Thread the laces from the bottom up, crossing them at each eyelet. Tighten progressively to distribute pressure evenly. Finish with a standard knot or a double knot.

Technique 2: the runner’s knot

➜ A technique that prevents heel slippage and reduces friction and blisters at the back of the foot. It’s useful for runners with narrow heels or shoes that are slightly too large.

➜ How to do it: Lace normally up to the final eyelet, but don’t cross the laces through it. Pass each end through the top eyelet on the same side to create a small loop. Cross the lace ends and feed each one through the opposite loop. Pull down to tighten, then tie the final knot.

Technique 3: lacing for wide feet

➜ A technique that creates more room in the toe box and reduces pressure on the forefoot. Ideal for wide feet or anyone who wants more space up front.

➜ How to do it: Start lacing one eyelet above the lowest one. Continue with standard lacing without tightening the forefoot too much. Finish with a heel lock if needed, using technique 2.

Technique 4: lacing for a high instep

➜ A technique that relieves pressure across the top of the foot. Also known as skip lacing or window lacing, it’s suited to high-volume feet.

➜ How to do it: Lace normally, using technique 1, until you reach the painful area. Skip the eyelet located over the pressure point to create a pressure-relief window. Resume technique 1 through to the top.

Technique 5: parallel lacing

➜ A technique for reducing pressure points. Also known as bar lacing, it’s useful for feet that are sensitive to pressure.

➜ How to do it: The laces run horizontally from one side to the other without crossing over the tongue. Because it’s difficult to explain without a diagram or video, it’s worth looking up this technique online to see exactly how it works.

Technique 6: lacing for black toenails

➜ A technique often used by trail runners who develop black toenails on descents, as well as road runners with sensitive toes. It helps prevent the toes from hitting the front of the shoe.

➜ How to do it: Use technique 2 to lock the heel securely in place. Tighten the forefoot a little more, without overdoing it. Check the shoe size: a shoe that’s too small causes repeated impacts against the front of the shoe.

Technique 7: asymmetrical lacing

➜ A technique for pain on the side of the foot. It shifts pressure away from an irritated area.

➜ How to do it: Start with standard lacing at the first eyelet, then gradually move the lace crossings to avoid the sensitive area. Skip an eyelet on one side only if necessary.

Technique 8: lacing for a sensitive Achilles tendon

➜ A technique for reducing heel friction and tension around an irritated Achilles tendon.

➜ How to do it: Tighten progressively through the midfoot, then lace slightly more loosely across the instep.

Lacing is an art that deserves every runner’s attention, whatever their preferred discipline. Over longer distances such as the marathon, lacing your running shoes properly matters even more: the effort lasts longer, and your feet need to fade into the background. Every runner has to find the method that works for them and adapt it to the workout and terrain.