A footwear assembly comprising: a footwear upper assembly comprising an outer layer and a floating tongue , the footwear upper assembly including a toe box section , a medial side , a lateral side , a heel section, and a central throat section ; a lace cable with a first end anchored to the upper assembly in a first anchor location and a second end anchored to the upper assembly in a second anchor location ; a first plurality of lace guides forming a first lacing zone routing a first portion of the lace cable to tension a forefoot region of the footwear assembly; a second plurality of lace guides forming a second lacing zone routing a second portion of the lace cable to tension a mid-foot region of the footwear assembly; a tongue lace guide assembly secured to a proximal portion of the floating tongue , the tongue lace guide assembly adapted to receive lace cable from both the medial side and the lateral side ; a medial heel lace guide positioned to receive the lace cable from the tongue lace guide along the medial side of the upper assembly ; a lateral heel lace guide positioned to receive the lace cable from the tongue lace guide along the lateral side of the upper assembly ; a medial lace exit routing the lace cable from the medial heel lace guide into a position allowing the lace cable to engage a lacing engine disposed within a mid-sole portion of the footwear assembly; and a lateral lace exit to route the lace cable from the lateral heel lace guide into a position to engage the lacing engine , characterised in that the second plurality of lace guides distributes lace cable tension across a larger area of the footwear assembly than the first plurality of lace guides . a footwear upper assembly comprising an outer layer and a floating tongue , the footwear upper assembly including a toe box section , a medial side , a lateral side , a heel section, and a central throat section ; a lace cable with a first end anchored to the upper assembly in a first anchor location and a second end anchored to the upper assembly in a second anchor location ; a first plurality of lace guides forming a first lacing zone routing a first portion of the lace cable to tension a forefoot region of the footwear assembly; a second plurality of lace guides forming a second lacing zone routing a second portion of the lace cable to tension a mid-foot region of the footwear assembly; a tongue lace guide assembly secured to a proximal portion of the floating tongue , the tongue lace guide assembly adapted to receive lace cable from both the medial side and the lateral side ; a medial heel lace guide positioned to receive the lace cable from the tongue lace guide along the medial side of the upper assembly ; a lateral heel lace guide positioned to receive the lace cable from the tongue lace guide along the lateral side of the upper assembly ; a medial lace exit routing the lace cable from the medial heel lace guide into a position allowing the lace cable to engage a lacing engine disposed within a mid-sole portion of the footwear assembly; and a lateral lace exit to route the lace cable from the lateral heel lace guide into a position to engage the lacing engine , characterised in that the second plurality of lace guides distributes lace cable tension across a larger area of the footwear assembly than the first plurality of lace guides . <EOS>