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Long lace means no slipping Why do the manufacturers of jogging-type shoes insist on including excessively long shoelaces? Seems one always has to double- or triple-knot them or some other double-back-flip maneuver utilizing as much lace as possible in order not to trip over them. -- Jim H., White City Jim, your question intrigued us, as we here at Since You Asked have wondered the same thing. We called Steve Meager, a salesman at Johnson's Shoes in the Rogue Valley Mall, who explained it all for us. You don't say whether you are a runner or merely a person like many of us who buys athletic shoes just for walking around. Some runners, Meager tells us, like to use the extra pair of eyelets found on many running shoes at the very top of the shoe. This keeps the shoe tighter and prevents the heel from slipping. Others like to wrap the laces around the top of the shoe for the same reason. In any case, Meager says the industry standard length for athletic shoelaces is 45 inches -- fairly long, as shoelaces go. You also don't mention the width of your foot. Troy Cunningham, shift manager at the Foot Locker store in the mall, pointed out that shoe manufacturers are shooting for the average foot with laces -- a narrower foot means more lace left over after tying, a wider foot means less. (Send your questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; or by fax to (541) 776-4376; or by e-mail to: [email protected] Please include your name, address and phone number for verification.) Today's News Index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA