If running gives you blisters on your heels, or if your heels tend to slip around in your shoes when the trail gets rocky, there’s an easy solution. You know that extra weird shoelace hole at the ankles of your running shoes? You can use it to tie a lace lock.
A lace lock, or heel lock, creates some extra friction between the laces at your ankle so you can keep the ankle and heel area tight without having to tighten the whole shoe. This video from Harry Runs on YouTube shows you how to do it:
You should notice a huge improvement in heel slippage and stability right away, but if it’s not enough, try pulling the tongue of your shoe forward so the entire lace lock system is behind the tongue. This extra-snug variant eliminates tongue slippage and lets you cinch the shoe collar snugly around your foot. If you have especially narrow feet and ankles—or just wear shoes with slippery tongues—it can be a lifesaver.
The lace lock also works on shoes that don’t have the extra hole; just use the top regular hole instead. Try it with your hiking boots, your climbing shoes, or any other lace-up pair that could use a snugness enhancement. If you’ve been over-compensating for heel slippage by lacing your shoes way too tight in the toe and midfoot region, or have sized up your too-tight shoes to avoid getting black toenails and are now finding them a bit too big in the heel area, don’t be afraid to loosen things up a bit—the lace lock will still keep your heel in place, and your toes will be much more comfortable.
This article was originally published on February 13, 2015. It was updated on June 10, 2021 with a new photo, active YouTube video link, a description of the extra-snug lacing technique, and updated links to related stories.
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