The recent cold snap to hit our area was messing up my running schedule due to the combination of icy roads and my hate for treadmills and gyms. Thankfully, the mailman stayed true to the postal service motto and delivered the latest edition of Runner's World over the weekend. A brief article on do-it-yourself "screw shoes" inspired me to create some of my own. After laying out just a few bucks at my local hardware store for two different sizes of sheet metal screws and about fifteen minutes with my cordless drill, the Akiyama Ice Runners 2008 were born.
I used size 6x1/2 hex head slotted sheet metal screws for the heel area and size 6x3/8 screws for the forefoot area.
There are several websites with instructions and videos on how to create your own pair of screw shoes for snow/ice running. Here's a site I wish I had read first. It recommends using a socket bit driver on the drill, which would be a lot easier than using the slotted screwdriver attachment.
After going on a seven mile run this morning in mixed snow and ice I can report that these things work like a charm. I didn't slip once. The running sensation is most like running on hard-packed sand during low tide at the beach. The sheet metal screw studs on the bottom of the shoes make almost exactly the same sound on asphalt and ice as studded snow tires do.
