Spikes are worthless in XC

Here in Southern California many XC races are in parks with hard packed fire road type trails that may feel like concrete. However, these types of surfaces have layers of sand and fine gravel that act like mini ball bearings under your shoes. Short spikes definitely improve traction on these surfaces. Sadly, I have to admit that we also have courses with long stretches of sidewalk in them. It is OK to do "XC" on sidewalk courses without spikes.

'Good fell running shoes with an aggressive profile are just as good though if not better when it's very muddy'

No, they are not they all clog up with mud to varying degrees

They are made for running on peat which falls off shoes

That said you are not talking as much shite as that Wiggins fellow

Just talking from personal experience. My spikes clog up just as much when it's extremely muddy and I've never ran a fell race where it's all on peat.

I find my fell racing shoes probably provide better traction going up or down extremely muddy hills than 12mm spikes do. Maybe I need to use 15's?

I had to stop running due to injury awhile back, but one of the things I miss is the weekly debate with teammates: "halves, 3/8", quaters, or flats?" and the addendum: "new spikes or used?"

Every course is different and can require different equipment. I have both won and lost races due to choosing the approprate spike length. Just another piece of the puzzle.

Monday follows Sunday

XY wrote:

After you've run your first XC race in Ireland, post again

+1

Good fell running shoes with an aggressive profile are just as good though if not better when it's very muddy.[/quote]

No, they are not - the mud clogs the cleats up too much on any of them

If your running mainly on concrete then spikes are useless for you. Still you should still buy a legit pair of spikes just buy blanks and put them in. Having spikes will be awesome if you ever run on an all grass course. Especially in mud! You can also then use your xc spikes for track where spikes are a great thing to have.

I don't know why someone would wear spikes in xc but some people need them

From experience I think spikes aren't really for traction but responsiveness. Tbh what's a little 6mm spike gonna do in mud anyway? I also think that by having a minimal base and cushion system it provides for faster times.

Joe Blow Nobody wrote:

need opinions wrote:

Can someone please tell me the benefits of spikes in cross country. I am not saying one should not buy a racing shoe for xc. I am saying that how will having the actual spikes in the shoe help? All of the courses I run on in XC are mostly concrete, by the way.

This is hilarious. It's like saying, "could someone please explain to me the benefit of a parachute when one goes skydiving? I mean, will it really help? The airplane I will be jumping out of is five feet off the ground, by the way."

Bravo.

need opinions wrote:

Can someone please tell me the benefits of spikes in cross country. I am not saying one should not buy a racing shoe for xc. I am saying that how will having the actual spikes in the shoe help? All of the courses I run on in XC are mostly concrete, by the way.

If you are in high school then you are running on all illegal courses

Joe Blow Nobody wrote:

need opinions wrote:

Can someone please tell me the benefits of spikes in cross country. I am not saying one should not buy a racing shoe for xc. I am saying that how will having the actual spikes in the shoe help? All of the courses I run on in XC are mostly concrete, by the way.

This is hilarious. It's like saying, "could someone please explain to me the benefit of a parachute when one goes skydiving? I mean, will it really help? The airplane I will be jumping out of is five feet off the ground, by the way."

Letsrun really needs an upvote feature.

As a high school athlete, and someone who's XC courses are mostly wet trails, spikes make a MASSIVE difference. When taking the tight corners that are super wet, the benefit of spikes (I use the Nike Zoom Victory XC 4's) is the not slipping around and that. I've seen countless people lose grip and slide out when turning corners, but I have almost no problems and my feet stay dry.

Bad Wigins wrote:

Spikes slice right through mud. They don't reach the dirt on grass unless it's like field turf, and even then they have little effect because they still just slice through it. That's why turf cleats have big fat treads, not little pointy ones.

Unless the spikes directly contact the dirt, they are a placebo.

Propably the most silly thing you've posted, which is saying something.

Spikes definitely help. Any decent runner knows that from experience. Of course they don't make much difference if you are running 24 minutes for 5k.

If your xc has a good portion of those dirt trails, especially when damp, then spikes will help a lot.

The spikes in dry grass itself don't help a whole lot, but the grip is always welcome plus it's not like you need a shoe with cushioning in grass. The lighter the better.

Muddy courses? The grip will not be perfect, but it's a world's away from a pair of racing flats.

Since xc can combine a lot of these, spikes is the best choice overall.

I know correlation doesn't mean causation but look at the top 10 in every major cross country. World's, Kenyan Trials, Edinburgh, Seville XC... How many are wearing spikes? Draw your own conclusions.

If most of your races are on concrete or hard packed trails I would buy good racing flats for xc. I believe most, if not all xc spikes currently on the market have a spikeless version.

The nike streak lt is designed for "California cross country". California cross country is grass track courses, lots of concrete and asphalt. If you go gosh why are times from (insert hilly region) so slow, you might be running California cross country. Look at the British national xc races to see what real xc looks like.