Dunno girl, but I am about to find out! We are getting hammered right now and I run my usual 3 at 6am tomorrow and a double of 8 in the evening. Man, I really do NOT want to run both tomorrow evening if the morning sucks! Putting on my YakTrax and hoping for the best. Should be 6-8" of fresh powder the first run.

Of course I don't want an injury either, so if it sucks, I'll call it a day. Better to loose one day then loose a week, right?

Good luck! I'll let you know how it goes for me. I'm putting them on my Newton Terras. I have a pair of Solomon GoreTex trail shoes but I've had them for about 5 years and wear them all winter to walk around in, so even though they look nice, I worry about how worn in they probably are. I have a sensitive right ankle that likes to let me know when I've done something I don't usually do. I worry the Solomons might make it act up on me.

Just stay home on the couch, you don't need the run *jedi hand gensture*

How am I going to catch up to you in the Winter running game if you are not only running twice a day but actually getting snow....  We have had such a dry year, which was nice for my HM training this summer but leads to low point this winter...

Good luck and stay safe.

 

Every Wisconsinite should own a pair!

mandy, do you find your stride affected much by being in wider than usual shoes? do they force your feet to land further apart?

also +1 to scrape's comments.  I tried running in yaktrax a few years ago and gave up.  I just wait for the road to be plowed.

Thanks, guys!   I appreciate all the feedback.  That's helpful!

Yep, 3-6" is almost enough to snowshoe run in. And it helps pack the trail for later. Yea, studlike thinks usually work better on ice, and kahtoola microspikes are my weapon of choice on packed snow that they can dig into and get a grip. We don't have a base yet for microspikes to grab.

 

Yaktrax are probably ok on 3-6" of snow, but avoid them on ice. Take a look at those smooth coils and see if you see anything sharp enough to penetrate hard ice. They have another version now that's like the kahtoolas, but not sure what the model name is.

Great, thanks AKTrail!  I bought those microspikes on your recommendation awhile back.  I can't wait to test them out once we get a base here. Those are not good for running on ice, though?  I should use screw shoes when it is really icy out?

Mandy: OMG - you weren't joking.  I thought you were! 

I live near Cleveland, Ohio, so we get our fair share of snow (an average winter is roughly 60" for my area). I live in a suburban area; most of my running is on the asphalt all-purpose path in the park or on sidewalks. The only thing I use is screws in my shoes. They seem to be the most useful for the widest variety of conditions I encounter.  When the snow gets too deep to run in/through, I head inside.

I've tried the Yak Trax once and they kept falling off. I did not like them. I haven't tried screws. I've run with my regular running shoes in snow, but as others mentioned, I try to wait for some of it to melt. A few inches of packed snow isn't bad, its the ice to worry about. Personally, and you know this, I will use the TM until I know its going to be safe to run the roads. Where I live it doesn't leave me much room on the road anyway once the plows are done plowing. You have to be very careful not only for the traction of your feet, but for oncoming cars and visibility with snow banks. 

It's a good point about the cars. I started out with a get a run in at all costs attitude back when I first started running. Over the years, I discovered that when the roads are a mess, the probability of something bad happening (slipping and falling, hurting an Achilles from pushing off and slipping, slipping on landing and tweaking my back trying to right myself) is unacceptably high for the benefit I might get from that run. When you throw in conditions where both I and the cars I have to share the road with may not be in full control of where they are headed, and for me that makes the choice pretty clear these days. I wait for later in the day, or skip the run altogether. 

It's a good point about the cars. I started out with a get a run in at all costs attitude back when I first started running. Over the years, I discovered that when the roads are a mess, the probability of something bad happening (slipping and falling, hurting an Achilles from pushing off and slipping, slipping on landing and tweaking my back trying to right myself) is unacceptably high for the benefit I might get from that run. When you throw in conditions where both I and the cars I have to share the road with may not be in full control of where they are headed, and for me that makes the choice pretty clear these days. I wait for later in the day, or skip the run altogether. 

Agreed. Living in MN they do a pretty decent job of clearing the roads and paths so waiting is usually good. Which brings me to why I ditched the yak traks/screws/etc......

I hate them on "dry" pavement and nothing I've tried works great on ice. Plus I just don't like the way they feel under my feet when I'm running. I've found that my regular shoes is just fine as long as I'm careful and slow down a bit on the snowy or icy areas.

I have the regular ones and my opinion of them is different depending on where I run.  I run primarily on a dirt rail trail and they are just fine there, but I took them on a couple of street runs a couple years ago and, while they are fine as long as there is snow (not ice) on the road, once I hit a patch of pavement they made me feel like I was not too stable as the metal coils would slide on the pavement a bit.

I would like to try the ones specifically for running.  They have coils and removable spikes and are fit specifically for running shoes.  Does anyone have those?

I live in the sub-arctic and honestly I never wear mine.  I have ones that are more like these:

The Yaxtrax with the coil hurt my feet after a long run.  Its the pounding of my frozen shoes on the coils mile after mile that just slay my feet and legs.  I wear my spikies maybe 2 a year.  I only wear then when its icy as it gives me a little traction on the ice that collects near driveways and easements.  When its just snow I find its better for me to strap on my trail shoes or road shoes with more aggressive tread and I am fine.  Snow tends to be a bit grippy ice...not so much.  I also duct tape the tops of my shoes to keep out the snow and the wind.  Last night at group run I was the one that remembered to bring duct tape.  Love that one of  my hard core guys used my hot pink hello kitty duct tape!