Running Shoes Repair

Ever since I was young, I’ve noticed that the heels of my shoes wear out much faster than the other parts. They always wear out at the same spot, and I’ve found that I am not alone. It seems that many people have the same problem. The location may be different for each person, but there is always that one spot that is worn out before the rest of the shoes.


It was always an annoyance; I realized that I was going through running shoes like mad. I wear small sized shoes, and getting a good pair of shoes that fits is difficult. So when I find a pair that I like, I try to get the most out of them. I run about 12 to 15 miles a week and this puts a lot of wear and tear to the heel. As I began to get better shoes with better, air-filled cushioning, I noticed that the softer soles seemed to wear out more quickly. Also, when the heels wore out down to the air bubble, I got a leak which made it impossible to comfortably run in the shoes.

Well, it turns out that with some hot glue and a little bit of time, I was able to repair the heel and double the life of the shoes at the very least. This saves me money and, most importantly, lets me keep using my favorite shoes for as long as possible.

The repair is simple. Squirt hot glue on the worn heel and apply it in layers; if you apply too much glue at the same time, the glue will not stay in place. If the glue is not forming the shape you want, wait until the glue is semi-solidified and use the side of the glue gun to push the glue around to manipulate the shape.

The picture above is a closer look at the worn out heel. The picture on the right is a close-up view of the repaired heel. The repair does not have to be precise. The key things to remember are that the heel is clean before you apply the glue to ensure that it sticks and stays on, and to check to make sure that the additional glue is roughly filling in the worn out part of the heel. With one repair, which takes less than 10 minutes, I can typically get 8 to 10 additional miles out of my shoes; the glue gun and glue are also pretty cheap.