Lock Laces (registered product name) for T1

I use them and love them. The key though is that I do NOT use socks so I have trained without them in the shoes that I use. Also, putting on a little body glide/tri-glide around the entrance to the shoe will allow your feet to go in smoothly/quickly. This has worked for me quite well.

Do you run in shoes without socks? Any foot chaffing, callouses, or foot problems?

If you are not completely ready to go sockless, I do something in between. I take a sock and turn it inside out and wrap it around shoe insole. This makes it feel like you are wearing a sock on the bottom of your foot (where I get blisters sockless) but you do not need to take time to put them on in transition. I would warn you to practice a few times before trying in a race just to work out if you have issues with bunching.

I almost forgot to mention that I do use locklaces on my running shoes and love them.

Edited by emcmino 2018-07-20 2:45 PM

Excellent call re: outdoor storage...hahaha

I use Lock Laces or similar products not only for racing but for most of my training shoes as well. They improve the fit of shoes, especially if (like me) you have narrow feet, and it's just annoying to have to stop and tie shoes on a training run. I only have one pair of shoes where I don't use them as they run quite narrow already.

I can't run sockless, unfortunately. I've tried a lot of shoes, but at best I can find ones where I can manage 20-30 minutes okay in training. But even in a sprint race, maybe due to the faster pace or stuff on my feet from transition, I get horrible blisters. I have a bone spur on one heel (it doesn't cause any problems until I try to go sockless) that is probably the culprit. It definitely saves time in a short race if you can go sockless, but that really depends on your shoes and feet. My thought is you are probably better off feeling comfortable and focusing on a strong run pace than trying to run on blistered feet.

BTW baby powder in your shoes and socks will help them go on faster in a race, and cut the chance of blisters.

Personally I leave my shoes tied anyways and slide them on.
No need for lock laces.