Zen and the Art of Speedskating

At the elite level of speedskating, 99% of athletes use custom made carbon fiber boots. A perfect fit is an absolute necessity when trying to push hard while balancing on 1mm of steel at 30+ mph (add in gallons of lactic acid induced haze for more fun). Custom boots are even more important if you have unusual feet like I do.

If you read this blog by visiting the website, you might have noticed the dancing skeleton on the right. This is because of my long time relationship with the mad scientist of carbon fiber, Bruce Kohen. If you using an RSS reader, you might not have seen it. So here it is

Bruce has made me several pairs of boots over the years, trying for that perfect fit, balance point and push. At this point, he “knows my feet”.

here he is, molding my feet, at the short track world cup last year.

In fact, as he started the drive back from Utah to Missouri, he had a whole trunk full of feet.

and notebooks full of detailed measurements from skater’s boots. Here he was noticing some unusual positioning of my right blade, and he is modifying the mounting placement because of it.

Then, it what could be a strange scene from a horror movie, he took those casts from his trunk, and remade our feet in his workshop. There are quite a few very fast feet here.

In the post I made for my last pair of boots, you could see my feet baking in the oven. This time I just got a picture of the carbon fibre casts. There are my funky hammer toes, my high arch & narrow ankles not so clear in the photo.

And here is the final product, with blade attached & on the ice!!! The lace cover is actually a hologram, it moves depending on the light. The important thing is they skate wonderfully well..

Most skaters pick out the color/design of their boots. For my last 2 pairs, I’ve asked Bruce to pick out the design based on a question. Last pair the question was “what would Darth Vader do” This time question I wanted him to answer for these boots was “What would Pink Floyd do?”

Bruce must have been listening to the early albums, so I now have Psychedelic boots. I call them the “Floydships”. Because there is a hologram of a spaceship on the heel, and when I look at them, I think of the song “Set the controls for the heart of the sun“.

This is my 3rd pair of Kohens. They all have distinctive personalities. Bruce’s work is wearable art. Here are all of them in a line reflecting the scorching Utah sun.

Why 3 pairs of boots?

Top Pair: The “Disco Snails”. My first pair of boots from Bruce. Scary fast on the ice, but Bruce did not “believe” that my toes were as weird as they were, so the forefoot fit was off. To use these I have to tighten the laces so much, as everyday boots my tendons get irritated. However I have skated my fastest 500m & 1000m races in these because of the toe ramps. I might end up one them again, they are scary fast.

The blades on here used to be Kreg Greer’s. I am sure they miss him. Kreg can actually SKATE short track. I just flounce around & try hard.

Middle Pair: The new “Floydships”, so far so good. They seem fast, light, and everyone notices the lace cover. Have not done a flying lap in them yet, so we shall see if they turn out “fast”. There is not a “toe” raise, it’s more “ball of the foot” raise.

Bottom Pair: The “Vader Kroners”. I wanted something black & shiny, and with a particular Norwegian Kroner embedded in the heel. These boots are incredibly comfortable, and are fantastic inline boots, and do distance long track ice very well. I set my 1500m, 3k, 5k, & 10k PB in these, and raced respectably well at the Napa Inline Marathon a few years back. (Photo link here)

However I discovered that the toe ramps on the Disco Snails made me faster, and the Vader Kroner’s have flat-oriented feet. Great for inline, not so great for ice sprinting.

Here is a detail on the heels, and the holograms that Bruce puts in there. You can really see the swirling Nautilus/Snail pattern, the Spaceship, and the Kroners quite clearly.

Although 3 pairs of boots might seem a lot, all 3 boots together is cheaper than a high end carbon fiber road racing bicycle, and given how much of my heart & soul have gone into speedskating, it is a worthwhile investment, and repaid with the joy I get from skating these amazing intersections of engineering and art.

Thanks Bruce!!

Filed under: from the coffee shop