Shoe Tying Techniques, Part 3

Loop it, Swoop it, Pull! As you probably discovered in kindergarten, there’s no one way to tie a shoe. But what you may not be aware of is that shoe tying can address serious problems when it comes to fitting athletic shoes. With a little ingenuity and some fancy shoe tying skills, fit problems that would normally lead you to toss out a pair of running shoes can be solved easily. Unfortunately, these techniques are little too complex to be summed up in a rhyme. But with a little patience, they can be tackled step by step.

If your shoe is putting pressure on your big toe…
Often athletic shoes put unwanted pressure on the big toe. This can cause capillaries behind the toenail to burst, resulting in what is commonly referred to as a “black toenail”. To address this problem, start by threading the lace through the eyelet closest to the big toe. Now take the inside end of the lace and thread it through the eyelet furthest away from the big toe (i.e., at the base of the shoe on the opposite side near the ankle). You should create a long diagonal line that stretches across the toe box. Pull the lace so that the majority of the slack is up by the big toe. (The lace near the ankle only needs to be long enough to tie a bow.) Now lace the entire shoe using the end of the lace that is next to the big toe. Thread the lace through the eyelet directly across from it. And then thread it through the eyelet that is diagonally up one eyelet (i.e., if your tail is protruding through the second eyelet on the right side, thread it through the third eyelet on the left side). Repeat this pattern: across and then diagonally up. Once you have laced the entire shoe, you can tie a bow. But notice this neat fact! If you tug on the lace end opposite from the big toe, you will actually lift the fabric up and away from the toe. This should reduce the pressure.

If the shoe rubs the top of your foot…
This is a simple fix-it! If you find that your shoe is rubbing the top of your foot raw, try skipping the eyelets in the area where the foot is most sore. Without laces being cinched over the sore area, irritation should be reduced. You should be able to skip a couple of eyelets without the fit of your shoe being compromised. For best results, do not skip two eyelets in a row.