Winter running shoes for snowy/icy conditions

I've been training through MN winters for years and the only change I make is a slightly heavier sock. And that's only if it's below 10. Running on packed snow is no big deal. And if you hit sheer ice, only spikes are going to save you, which are completely impractical for distance running.

Wimpy track spikes are not good enough for snow and ice. What you want are the best microspikes:

http://kahtoola.com/product/microspikes/

Wise One wrote:

Wimpy track spikes are not good enough for snow and ice. What you want are the best microspikes:

http://kahtoola.com/product/microspikes/

Like I said, completely impractical for distance running.

What's impractical about them? I've seen people run up and down mountains with them.

I've tried using them before, and I've always been better off without them. If it's too warm they actually collect snow. The situation you mentioned, mountain running with enormous elevation gains and drops, I could see them being beneficial. But outside of that, they're just annoying. I manage to run ice roads on my local lake just fine in normal shoes. All the ice fisherman think I'm nuts, but the feeling is mutual.

minong wrote:

I've been training through MN winters for years and the only change I make is a slightly heavier sock. And that's only if it's below 10. Running on packed snow is no big deal. And if you hit sheer ice, only spikes are going to save you, which are completely impractical for distance running.

Thanks. I usually run in shoes that don't have as much tread (Like those in the Nike Lunar family) maybe I'll just try a normal road shoe with an outsole with better traction. Might put screws in an old pair just to try them out if I think I won't have to be on the roads much for a run. This will be my first winter in Minnesota. I haven't minded it being cold or snowy so far but being in the dark and not being able to spot ice patches worries me a tad

If you're running trails, the microscopes are great. Even try snowshoe running, just get running snowshoes. If roads, then try the Saucony Peregrine Ice. There are anti slip panels on the outsole. I believe this is actually a Vibram product and may be on other brand models as well, I just know of the Peregrines.

Welcome to God's country! Or something like that.

So there's actually a bit of a skill to running in winter here. Never slow down, speed up or turn if you're unsure that you're not on ice. And when you do need to do any of those things, slow down to almost a walk unless you're 100% confident of your footing. So if you're running along and feel your footing slip a bit most people's immediate reaction is to stop. Don't do that, just keep going. I've put myself into snow banks entirely on purpose more times than I can count because trying to stop or turn on ice is how you slip and get hurt. Maybe I'm preaching to the choir, so apologies if this isn't helpful. But I see runners go down all the time because they panic when they hit ice. I've put thousands of miles in the dark in winter here and I've fallen once in the last 10 years. And it was because I didn't follow that advice, it was completely avoidable.

Good luck!

This is your answer.

Until you're comfortable running on ice, you can try this. Get a pack of 3/8 inch hex head sheet metal screws. You can get them at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. You're going to screw them into the perimeter of the outsole. Put two on the heel on the left side about a 1/8 in from the side of the shoe. Put three on the left edge of the forefoot. Repeat this in the right side. On ice, the hex edges of the screw heads will give you traction. On pavement, they'll just push into the shoe and you'll get traction on the regular outsole material. They will click when you run on pavement. I'd suggest you avoid putting them in the middle of the outsole. It's not necessary and it will interfere with traction on dry pavement.

I also add a couple of these screws right in front where the outsole curls up to the tip of the shoe. You need to be careful with these, because they can come through the sole into your toes. Don't worry, you'll figure it out pretty quickly if you did it wrong. :)

In spring, just take the screws out. The holes are self sealing.

Something like this works great for snow and/or ice, trails or pavement.