Masters runner looking for track spikes. Are Hoka spikes any good?

I would get a cheap pair of mambas or something, great spike and pretty cheap nowadays. A friend of mine raced 5k XC in hoka MD spikes and was very successful, so they can't be that bad.

Many of the more accomplished masters are wearing Nike Dragonfly. If you go to the 50s Masters thread you can read discussion on the topic June/July of this year. Of course they run about $170.

Thanks for the feedback!

I think I'll give the Hokas a shot and it's good to know that they work on XC too since I plan on doing grass workouts. At this point, I just want to condition myself to the feel of spikes and getting used to zero drop shoes since I've been running for years in 5-10 mm drop shoes.

Once I get some comfort with spikes, I think I'll try out the Dragonflys.

At this point, wouldn't you be looking at indoor meets in a few months? Don't know if that matters, but some indoor tracks don't allow spikes.

M73 here. I have the Hoka Rocket MD and the Hoka Speed Evo, 5.3 and 5.5 oz with spikes respectively in size 9.5. I wore the Rocket MD in all three of my relay 4x800 WRs. It's a very good shoe, but I personally wouldn't wear it in the 1500. The Speed Evo has some heel and forefoot cushioning. I would wear it in the 1500m. I'm not in shape now due to injuries, but I ran 200m in 34.6 yesterday in the Evo and the shoe felt comfortable and responsive. The toe box is a little too low, but it seems to be getting better after I wore them for a few workouts. Fit is true to size. Both shoes are being phased out, I think, so you might get a good deal on the Evo. I can't compare them to the super spikes or any other spike. I race the 200 and 400 in the full plate Saucony Showdown.

For what it's worth, I found the MD and the Evo felt better with normal length spikes in the toe and shorter spikes under the midfoot.

Got the Zoom D on sale at Nike. Pretty good compared to old spikes. Lots of protection and the plate upfront is very flexible.

CrispyChicken wrote:

At this point, wouldn't you be looking at indoor meets in a few months? Don't know if that matters, but some indoor tracks don't allow spikes.

Yeah that's a good point and I did not know that about indoor tracks. Mile track races are few and far between in my area, so I haven't figured that part out yet. I'm going to continue training and worst case scenario is that I will do a time trial and then use it as a stepping stone for a spring race.

Fisky - thanks for the feedback, that's very helpful. I did notice that there is also an LD variety of the Rocket, so that might be a suitable option.

The Zoom D's also look good and like that they have some cushioning.

Are all of these models of spikes ok to run on grass fields?

MoCo Runner wrote:

Fisky - thanks for the feedback, that's very helpful. I did notice that there is also an LD variety of the Rocket, so that might be a suitable option.

The Zoom D's also look good and like that they have some cushioning.

Are all of these models of spikes ok to run on grass fields?

I've never seen the LD so I can't comment. Between the MD and the Evo, the Evo would be better on grass. It's closer to a cross country shoe and has a bit more heel. It will chew up the hard plastic nibs on the plate as it hits dirt and rocks, but the shoe should be fine. Running Warehouse has the Evo on clearance in limited sizes for $49.

I can't comment on the Zoom D because I've never run in them.