Crampons for running shoes?

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Fanatic #3965

posted: 12/7/2006 at 11:06 AM

Can anyone recommend anything that can be put on running shoes for running on snow/ice? I have seen some products, but is there anything anyone can personally recommend? Looks like trying to schedule my runs around snow is going to be impossible for a while, since even when it's not actually snowing our sidewalks and roads aren't getting cleared well (aside from the busy main roads, but I can't actually run on those). My running shoes don't seem to have very good traction at all in snow (like performance tires vs. snow tires), but I still want to be able to run without risking a slip-and-fall injury. k

Kirsten

'07: 1324.5 | '08: 1561 | '09: 1810.9 run ~ 208.7 bike | '10: 1,000.3 run ~ 3513.5 bike | '11: 710.3 run ~ 4157.9 bike '12: 659.9 run ~ 3365.6 bike (100% benched by ortho last 4.5 weeks while in long-arm cast)

'13 Goals:

• DON'T BREAK ANYTHING!!!

• get within 5#s of 130#s (and stay there, gotdammit!)

• 1st olympic distance duathlon

• 1st Iceman Cometh mtn bike race

• Half Fanatic

• punch Type 1 in the junk

mikeymike

posted: 12/7/2006 at 11:24 AM

I've seen some running crampons in the RRS catalogue but to be honest I've never had a problem just running year round in regular running shoes (on roads that is.) The best conditions are a few inches of fresh snow but I've run straight through some nasty ass winters, mostly in the dark to boot, with no special gear. I've found you can actually run on ice or packed snow a lot better than you can walk on it. I think it's becuase your feet pretty much stay below your center of mass when running as opposed to walking. You need to slow down and not worry about pace on the messy days, but you can manage. The bigger problem for me is not slipping and falling but stepping on a chunk of ice or snow and rolling an ankle. And crampons won't help with that.

Runners run.

woodlandsprite

Finished!

posted: 12/7/2006 at 11:25 AM

Check out the following Products, I don't know how well they do for running as I've never run in such things before: Stabiliacers YakTrax Kahtoola (for serious ice - but becare of the points!) You can read comprehensive independant reviews at BackpackGearTest.org

Walk + Jog = wog.
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Fanatic #3965

posted: 12/7/2006 at 12:26 PM

Quote from mikeymike on 12/7/2006 at 11:24 AM:

I've found you can actually run on ice or packed snow a lot better than you can walk on it. I think it's becuase your feet pretty much stay below your center of mass when running as opposed to walking. You need to slow down and not worry about pace on the messy days, but you can manage. The bigger problem for me is not slipping and falling but stepping on a chunk of ice or snow and rolling an ankle. And crampons won't help with that.

Heh, maybe you're more coordinated than I am. Wink

Last Saturday I had a couple of "oh shit" moments during my run (just slowly mincing along, too--and my abs and lower back were pretty sore for the next 24 hours from all the extra effort staying balanced). Snow isn't really so bad, it's snow on top of packed slush or ice that gets hairy. That's pretty much what our back roads consist of (which is really the only areas I can run, right now). When I'm a billionaire I will have my paved rail trail paths redone with a snow melt system underneath, that way I can run them year-round. Big grin

k

Kirsten

'07: 1324.5 | '08: 1561 | '09: 1810.9 run ~ 208.7 bike | '10: 1,000.3 run ~ 3513.5 bike | '11: 710.3 run ~ 4157.9 bike '12: 659.9 run ~ 3365.6 bike (100% benched by ortho last 4.5 weeks while in long-arm cast)

'13 Goals:

• DON'T BREAK ANYTHING!!!

• get within 5#s of 130#s (and stay there, gotdammit!)

• 1st olympic distance duathlon

• 1st Iceman Cometh mtn bike race

• Half Fanatic

• punch Type 1 in the junk

mikeymike

posted: 12/7/2006 at 12:33 PM

Here's what I was talkin bout: http://www.roadrunnersports.com/rrs/products/SUR003/ Never tried 'em and you'll have to get over that they're called "Joggers."

Runners run.

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Fanatic #3965

posted: 12/7/2006 at 12:52 PM

The Yaktrax seem like they'd be the most appropriate, but reviews seem sorta mixed--the main complaint is that they wear-out fast. Not sure I want to spend $25 if they won't last me even a full season. Gah, I wish we'd just have an easy Winter, though I think this is a la niña year, or something. Predictions are for lots of snow and cold (so far the weather guys seem to be on-target, too). I'd like to be able to do at least 15-20 miles every week until Spring. Cross-training is good, but I wonder how much running conditioning I will lose if I have to cut my miles back too far for too many months. Nov. is already a lost month, in many respects. k

Kirsten

'07: 1324.5 | '08: 1561 | '09: 1810.9 run ~ 208.7 bike | '10: 1,000.3 run ~ 3513.5 bike | '11: 710.3 run ~ 4157.9 bike '12: 659.9 run ~ 3365.6 bike (100% benched by ortho last 4.5 weeks while in long-arm cast)

'13 Goals:

• DON'T BREAK ANYTHING!!!

• get within 5#s of 130#s (and stay there, gotdammit!)

• 1st olympic distance duathlon

• 1st Iceman Cometh mtn bike race

• Half Fanatic

• punch Type 1 in the junk

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Fanatic #3965

posted: 12/7/2006 at 12:57 PM

Quote from mikeymike on 12/7/2006 at 12:33 PM:

Here's what I was talkin bout: http://www.roadrunnersports.com/rrs/products/SUR003/ Never tried 'em and you'll have to get over that they're called "Joggers."

Hmmm...looks like those suffer from the same issues as the Yaktrax when it comes to longevity. Too bad there aren't any snow/ice specific running shoes. I would think shoe manufacturers could sell quite a few of those in the upper half of the US and most of Canada, too. I'd buy a pair of shoes for such purposes...something with specialized traction, maybe a bit of thinsulate, and some water protection. Even if I only used them for 5-10 miles/week the mileage would still add up over the course of our 5 months of snow/ice/slop. k

Kirsten

'07: 1324.5 | '08: 1561 | '09: 1810.9 run ~ 208.7 bike | '10: 1,000.3 run ~ 3513.5 bike | '11: 710.3 run ~ 4157.9 bike '12: 659.9 run ~ 3365.6 bike (100% benched by ortho last 4.5 weeks while in long-arm cast)

'13 Goals:

• DON'T BREAK ANYTHING!!!

• get within 5#s of 130#s (and stay there, gotdammit!)

• 1st olympic distance duathlon

• 1st Iceman Cometh mtn bike race

• Half Fanatic

• punch Type 1 in the junk

sistinas

posted: 12/7/2006 at 12:59 PM

Snowshoes! I think if you can find enough snow somewhere to use snowshoes in at a steady clip, you definitely won't lose running conditioning since almost all of the same muscles are used. There are some lighter weight snowshoes designed for running, and while more expensive, they will definitely last longer than those crampons. Here's an article for ya: http://www.michiganrunner.com/feb00/snowshoe1.html I'll trade you some sunny 70 degree Arizona weather for a week for some snow...

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Fanatic #3965

posted: 12/7/2006 at 1:02 PM

Christina, that is really tempting. I have a great pair of cross country skis, but they need new boots and bindings and I'm thinking a decent pair of snowshoes would actually be cheaper and more useable--the skis would be a bit more limited to snow conditions and I would have to drive a bit of a distance to use them on trails that haven't been destroyed by snowmobiles--I could use snowshoes on pretty much anything, right? k

Kirsten

'07: 1324.5 | '08: 1561 | '09: 1810.9 run ~ 208.7 bike | '10: 1,000.3 run ~ 3513.5 bike | '11: 710.3 run ~ 4157.9 bike '12: 659.9 run ~ 3365.6 bike (100% benched by ortho last 4.5 weeks while in long-arm cast)

'13 Goals:

• DON'T BREAK ANYTHING!!!

• get within 5#s of 130#s (and stay there, gotdammit!)

• 1st olympic distance duathlon

• 1st Iceman Cometh mtn bike race

• Half Fanatic

• punch Type 1 in the junk

sistinas

posted: 12/7/2006 at 1:21 PM

Yeah, you can definitely use snowshoes anywhere there is more than a few inches of snow on the ground. The unplowed sidewalk can be your friend, as can the park trails no one else uses, the giant midwest cornfield, as well as all of the cross country ski trails. If there's a blanket of snow on it you can snowshoe/run across it. Smile

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Fanatic #3965

posted: 12/7/2006 at 1:45 PM

Hmmm...I just got my brand new running shoes yesterday (I needed them, at least I have those wandering aches that seem to be signalling the need for new shoes...right now I'm loathe to get them all nastied by actually wearing them outdoors in all the slop), and with Christmas the wallet has moths flying out of it. I'm going to have to see what hubby thinks. My birthday is in a couple of months, so maybe they could be an early birthday present. Campor has a pair that looks like they would suit my needs well and for only $110, which looks to be about as cheap as a decent pair comes.

Kirsten

'07: 1324.5 | '08: 1561 | '09: 1810.9 run ~ 208.7 bike | '10: 1,000.3 run ~ 3513.5 bike | '11: 710.3 run ~ 4157.9 bike '12: 659.9 run ~ 3365.6 bike (100% benched by ortho last 4.5 weeks while in long-arm cast)

'13 Goals:

• DON'T BREAK ANYTHING!!!

• get within 5#s of 130#s (and stay there, gotdammit!)

• 1st olympic distance duathlon

• 1st Iceman Cometh mtn bike race

• Half Fanatic

• punch Type 1 in the junk

Wingz

posted: 12/7/2006 at 3:06 PM

Quote from zoom-zoom on 12/7/2006 at 12:26 PM:

Last Saturday I had a couple of "oh shit" moments during my run (just slowly mincing along, too--and my abs and lower back were pretty sore for the next 24 hours from all the extra effort staying balanced).

Just think of it as a bonus "core" workout... Wink

Roads were made for journeys...

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Fanatic #3965

posted: 12/7/2006 at 3:11 PM

Quote from Wingz on 12/7/2006 at 3:06 PM:

Just think of it as a bonus "core" workout...

Yeah, until I fall and break something when I'm no less than 3 miles away from home, LOL! Big grin

k

Kirsten

'07: 1324.5 | '08: 1561 | '09: 1810.9 run ~ 208.7 bike | '10: 1,000.3 run ~ 3513.5 bike | '11: 710.3 run ~ 4157.9 bike '12: 659.9 run ~ 3365.6 bike (100% benched by ortho last 4.5 weeks while in long-arm cast)

'13 Goals:

• DON'T BREAK ANYTHING!!!

• get within 5#s of 130#s (and stay there, gotdammit!)

• 1st olympic distance duathlon

• 1st Iceman Cometh mtn bike race

• Half Fanatic

• punch Type 1 in the junk

Peke98

posted: 12/7/2006 at 4:12 PM

Zoom-zoom, I correspond with a couple of other runners in MI. One's in Detroit & sound like she's in for the winter. The other's up the road from you in Grand Rapids. She was saying she was psyched that she figured out a running route downtown that takes advantage of the heated sidewalks. Where I live in MA we have some pretty snowy winters but, nothing on the level of the lake effect storms you get up by the Great Lakes. It's all relative. I have friends from Buffalo who lived in MA & they would always crack up how quickly schools get cancelled because of a few inches of snow around here but, I had another buddy from CA who would freak out anytime we'd get a little bit of sleet. I've been waiting for winter to start. I'm not going to stop running when the snow starts. I've got some hilly routes on some dark roads & I've been wondering if I'll remember where the potholes are when they get covered with snow. I'm with you & don't relish the thought of going ass over teakettle on a downhill or being a speedbump. If the Ice Joggers or Yak Traxx only last a season, so what? It beats being stuck inside.

Take your protein pill and put your helmet on.

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Fanatic #3965

posted: 12/7/2006 at 4:28 PM

Quote from Peke98 on 12/7/2006 at 4:12 PM:

It's all relative. I have friends from Buffalo who lived in MA & they would always crack up how quickly schools get cancelled because of a few inches of snow around here but, I had another buddy from CA who would freak out anytime we'd get a little bit of sleet.

Yeah...this area is a real snowbelt. I saw a figure somewhere that put my area only behind Buffalo in terms of snow accumulation for an average year--though they still were quite a bit ahead of us. As for cancelling, when I was a student at GVSU they once closed classes ONLY after the Natl. Guard threatened to close all roads leading to campus if they didn't. Apparently their standards have become quite lax in recent years, as Friday's storm had the school cancelled and it was not really THAT bad a storm compared to some we saw in the 6 or so years that I was a student there. I would be seriously happy if I could find even a 1 mile stretch of heated pavement that I could run back-and-forth on. We lived in Holland, MI for a couple of years, right downtown, and that shopping district is all heated (maybe a quarter mile). Works great unless it is REALLY cold and snowy, then it melts the snow just enough for it to refreeze as glare ice. Was funny to watch cars not able to navigate well.

Quote from Peke98 on 12/7/2006 at 4:12 PM:

If the Ice Joggers or Yak Traxx only last a season, so what? It beats being stuck inside.

That's one way of looking at it. Hmmm...something like that probably would get me out on days when the weather isn't too wretched, but the roads are still treacherous. I'm going to give those options some more thought and see if I can find more positive reviews from runners. I'd be thrilled to be able to run and enjoy the run without having to constantly be looking at every spot my feet will hit. Makes it tough to just relax and let my thoughts wander like I'm accustomed to. k

Kirsten

'07: 1324.5 | '08: 1561 | '09: 1810.9 run ~ 208.7 bike | '10: 1,000.3 run ~ 3513.5 bike | '11: 710.3 run ~ 4157.9 bike '12: 659.9 run ~ 3365.6 bike (100% benched by ortho last 4.5 weeks while in long-arm cast)

'13 Goals:

• DON'T BREAK ANYTHING!!!

• get within 5#s of 130#s (and stay there, gotdammit!)

• 1st olympic distance duathlon

• 1st Iceman Cometh mtn bike race

• Half Fanatic

• punch Type 1 in the junk

Crampons for running shoes? (Read 1374 times)

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