Getting shoe lacing tightness correct/right?

I would try getting shoes that are a half size bigger than what you are wearing right now. Also try shoes that have 2E or 4E width because you may have wide feet. Can i now what shoe you are running in right now?

Brooks beast do the lydiard lacing

Replace the laces with elastic laces. You can snug the shoe tight, but it will allow for some stretch as your foot expands as you run. They are also very fast to adjust.

I've made my own elastic laces for over 15 years using 1/8" marine shock cord and ball-shaped cord locks. Commercial elastic laces are thinner and lack the resistance of 1/8" shock cord. You can buy shock cord and cord locks in bulk... i.e., 100 feet and 50 cord locks on eBay.

These homemade elastic laces 1) Prevent top of foot bruising where the laces cross 2) Prevent bruising where the top lace is tied 3) Allows the forefoot of the shoe to expand on impact, reducing the risk of Mortons Neuroma. 4) Eliminates the need to adjust lacing after you start running 5) Snugs the heel into the back of the shoe, reducing the risk of heel blisters, arch blisters, and black toe caused by the foot sliding in the shoe 6) Eliminates the need to double knot laces 7) Far faster to put on and take off shoes.

You might need to expand the existing eyelets slightly to get 1/8" shock cord through the eyelet holes. To do this, you can use a drill, a narrow blade screwdriver, leather punch, etc. I explain how to do this in more detail in my book. It's Tip #34 in my book 200 Tips Every Runner Should Know.

https://www.amazon.com/Tips-Every-Runner-Should-Know/dp/0999893408/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1543244639&sr=8-1&keywords=200+tips+every+runner+should+know

Thanks for the great response

Will do this

Got the bruising on top of feet several times

I'm in the same boat. I use lydiard lacing on all my shoes and have to tie them very specifically. Most the time I try to retie them after 1-2 miles of running; people stop to stretch after warming up anyways. I've never found a solution to the problem, just learned to run with one or both my shoes not really feeling right on every run.

From someone who's fairly OCD about tying my shoes exactly right on race day, the models offered with the Boa system on them have been awesome. NB 1500 and FuelCore Sonic, Asics Dynamis, and more, and plenty of trail shoes.

https://www.boafit.com/category/run

Caterpy Laces!

They are elastic laces that allow you to adjust the tension differently across each row and they are also no tie shoelaces.

After you pull your laces tight, point your toes away from you (motion of standing up onto your toes) as far as you can to fully stretch out the shoe against your foot. If it feels tight doing that then they're too tight.

God forbid a shoe company ever come up with a solution to take the guess work out of it right?

My first tip - never ever lace your shoes all the through the top lace holes - all you will do is inhibit bone movement and blood flow when your feet swell and expand. Ever seen how Bekele ties his shoes? (I think I saw an image of him wearing vaporflys on instagram the other day with the tongue flapping out because he laces up only to the 4th or 5th lace hole) - it's because of this reason.

Take a look at a skeletal foot - shoes only need to be fixed firm over the flat bones of your foot. If the shoe fits properly it will never ever come off your foot. The classic performance shoes from Nike/Adidas all had much shorter u-throats (where the laces are) that typical came up to half the length of the shoe. Designed for the above reason. Why did they get get longer and higher (covering those important bones and arteries etc and potentially restricting them?) Most probably more marketing real estate for logos and for the purposes of making a perfectly functioning shoe look "different"

Problem solved brother!

Nothing else matters?? wrote:

Here’s the problem

I lace up my shoes with lydiard lacing system (sometimes the regular style)

Start running

Realize laces are too tight or too loose

Never seem to get the tightness across my top of foot correct

Usually too tight

Have to stop multiple times to readjust laces

Then later in run seems like feet swell??

Have to loosen laces more

How to fix this??

Fix this by NOT tying your shoes this way.

The "Lydiard" system does not allow for the laces to shift and stretch on their own.

It was designed as a system that would be rigid and stable without shifting.

I buy lock laces off of Amazon. 1 pair will last through 2 or 3 pairs of shoes and they're easy to adjust.

Lock Laces FTW! wrote:

I buy lock laces off of Amazon. 1 pair will last through 2 or 3 pairs of shoes and they're easy to adjust.

I've tried commercial elastic laces. They are very good and definitely superior to regular shoe laces, but they have a significant shortcoming compared to the 1/8" shock cord I suggested in my earlier post.

Commercial elastic laces are thinner so they can fit easily through shoe eyelets, but this gives them less resistance than 1/8" shock cord. For me, commercial elastic laces have to be stretched so tight that the benefits of elasticity are lost. The 1/8" shock cord can be tightened snugly, but will still have some stretchiness remaining to allow expansion when the foot impacts.

My recommendation would be to get shoes that fit.