The difference between normal cross country spikes and “the best” cross country spikes isn’t as significant as the gap for track spikes given the uneven terrain of the races. Unless your kid is competition to win races, Saucony Kilkenny or The Nike Zoom Rival XC is just fine. If your kid is super fast, the Nike Zoom Victory XC is good but costs almost twice as much as the others.
Hey I appreciate the feedback and response! I will bear all that in mind when shopping.
Anyone else?
(Also: How bout for off-road / off-track training [ grass. dirt, bumps, not super technical though] ) ?
Most HS kids just wear their normal trainers for off road, but you could get a pair of trail running shoes if they will do a lot of that. Try them on and default to spending more if you can afford it.
For racing, if your kid will be in contention to win races or advance to one of the national meets, and the race courses where you live include a lot of hard packed dirt or paved surfaces (not tall grass or uneven surfaces or lots of U-turns), Nike next% marathon racing shoes seem to be a difference maker in HS 5k races. But they aren’t suitable for most courses in most of the country.
Hey I appreciate the feedback and response! I will bear all that in mind when shopping.
Anyone else?
(Also: How bout for off-road / off-track training [ grass. dirt, bumps, not super technical though] ) ?
Most HS kids just wear their normal trainers for off road, but you could get a pair of trail running shoes if they will do a lot of that. Try them on and default to spending more if you can afford it.
For racing, if your kid will be in contention to win races or advance to one of the national meets, and the race courses where you live include a lot of hard packed dirt or paved surfaces (not tall grass or uneven surfaces or lots of U-turns), Nike next% marathon racing shoes seem to be a difference maker in HS 5k races. But they aren’t suitable for most courses in most of the country.
In case it isn’t clear, the next% wouldn’t be the primary racing shoe. You asked what racing shoes are best, and it is possible your kid could run in an important race where the next% is the best shoe.
As an example, I think 9/10 of the boys who made it to Eastbay nationals from the west last year wore next% on the mt sac course. For some if not most of them, that was probably the the only time that season they wore them in a race.
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Most HS kids just wear their normal trainers for off road, but you could get a pair of trail running shoes if they will do a lot of that. Try them on and default to spending more if you can afford it.
For racing, if your kid will be in contention to win races or advance to one of the national meets, and the race courses where you live include a lot of hard packed dirt or paved surfaces (not tall grass or uneven surfaces or lots of U-turns), Nike next% marathon racing shoes seem to be a difference maker in HS 5k races. But they aren’t suitable for most courses in most of the country.
In case it isn’t clear, the next% wouldn’t be the primary racing shoe. You asked what racing shoes are best, and it is possible your kid could run in an important race where the next% is the best shoe.
As an example, I think 9/10 of the boys who made it to Eastbay nationals from the west last year wore next% on the mt sac course. For some if not most of them, that was probably the the only time that season they wore them in a race.
Hey, thx for the feedback. So even on a grass course [ was it grass?] they went with the top road flats?? That's considered faster than the spikes on grass, and they didn't lose traction? What about sharp turns?
Nike doesn't make an XC shoe with a little more spring/cushion [i.e., with a little more stack height and/or zoom x foam] than the typical XC spike?