Screws in the bottom of shoes for traction in snow/ice?

[fluffycookie]

Despite it being 60 right now it looks like we're going to get snow in my area (south west of Boston) tomorrow into late tomorrow night.  The maps and timing keep changing, but was what earlier predicted to be all rain is now looking like we could get anywhere from 2-8 inches depending on the map you look at.  I am running a 5 mile race on Thanksgiving morning at 8 am.  Its in a pretty residential area.  I would hope that they plow the course before the race, but I've come to the conclusion that the plowing in our town isn't always the greatest unless its a big storm.  I am going to call the LRS to see if they got them in, but last time I looked they were out of stock.  I was thinking of doing the screws in an old pair of sneakers. Does it work?  

TIA!

[gummybear]

I personally would not do that. 5 miles is too far and I think it could set you up for injury. Do you have a running store, Plow & Hearth, REI etc near you? Go look and see if they have Yak Trax.

FWIW, every winter race I've participated in has been meticulously prepared for as far as plowing/salting goes. I've had races delayed 30-60 minutes so they can get the course ready. If there are patches that are potentially dangerous, there is usually a volunteer standing there to guide runners around it. At this time of year I think it will be more slop than anything, so hard ice won't be an issue, which I think is the scariest..

[bostonmichelle]

Yep go to EMS, REI, Sports Authority. I'm running a trail race on Thursday, I'm a bit further north than you one map said 7" most likely for me.... DH is going and getting a pair of microspikes for me today at EMS. (
www.ems.com/product/index.jsp?productId=21078496&cp=3677336.12811708.3690027)

I think you should be fine, my guess is they will be out plowing the roads because so many people are traveling. If my race was a road race, I wouldn't think twice about it. I did a handful of races last year in the winter and they always plowed/shoveled the route.

[fluffycookie]

I'm hoping that since its so warm things won't ice up as bad. Unfortunately our town sucks at plowing. We had to get DS to the hospital last year for his infusion at the end of a snow storm and the roads in our town were horrible. Once we crossed over the town line into the next town the roads were bare - it was like night and day.

[ebeth]

I would not do this.

We're also getting wet slushy mess. I'm disappointed because it will probably make for a sloppy race and I was really hoping to see what I could do, but I think it will probably be more about finishing without falling down

[thom]

I hope things work out okay for the race! If conditions are too bad I would seriously considering walking so you don't fall.

With that said, I have these rubber slip on bottoms with spikes that are great for icy roads or several inches of packed snow. (I don't think they'd help much if there is 6 inches unplowed or the like.)

They are called "get a grips" I think, and look like this. I couldn't find them on a major website, but I bet they may have them at various sporting good stores.

cozywinters.com/shop/gag-ultra.html.

[wawa]

I saw yak trax at my local Costco too the other day. Just for one more place to check.

[fluffycookie]

I picked up the yak trax at lunch at the local running store just now. The girl was saying that based on the forecast she saw a little while ago we're more in the rain/mix area which means it maybe more icy than snowy. Fabulous! A couple of people that I had plans to run this with have already said they are probably skipping it. It's right down the street from my house (I can walk to the start in less than 10 minutes) and it's a race I've always wanted to do so I am planning on going for it. If its really icy I will slow my pace down because I don't want to spend thanksgiving in the ER.