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.
"All of the courses I run on in XC are mostly concrete".
Then your not running XC you are road racing.
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.
You know your state or region has hit a low point when every known XC Course is mostly concrete and not mostly grass/trails
There legit cross country courses. There is still grass, sometimes sand, mud, etc. Just a good portion of them are concrete or hard dirt that feels like concrete.
I just really want to know the benefits that spikes on an xc course provide. I doubt they really provide any benefit(time-wise).
You must have never run in real mud.
Running in grass even when not wet will have you slipping somewhat as you push off. The longer the grass the more of a problem. Spikes need to be long enough to dig into the dirt.
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.
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.
Except they don't just grab the dirt. They grab the grass and everything in between.
The spikes in XC are longer in order to penetrate further down, Wigins. If you've ever tried to run with 1/4 inchers in vs a good 3/8" or more, you don't know what you're talking about.
Normally a big fan of you. But not this time.
If you only run on concrete or loose gravel, of course spikes aren't going to help - they can't dig into the surface to provide better traction. However, if you run on a permeable surface (e.g., a track or on grass or on dirt), of course they help.
Sorry... wrote:
They grab the grass
And the grass does what, holds them solidly in place?
Cleats work because they are so big that they "grab" hundreds of blades of grass each. Even on the manicured grass of golf courses, steel spikes were thick and blunt and were used on both the heel and forefoot. If golfers needed 10 thick pillars of steel to hold them in place standing still on perfect grass, how are 6 little pyramids or needles going to have any effect on a XC course?
you don't know what you're talking about.
A time-honored way of admitting you have no evidence and are just talking shit.
Normally a big fan of you. But not this time.
You think I'm here to entertain you? I'm here to agree with someone's opinion about XC spikes. I'm probably twice your age, have worn them all and know they don't work on grass and mud. They do work on ice and hard-packed snow though.
They work for me, here in England every xc course I've ran is all grass and as xc season is Sept-March there's almost always varying amounts of mud.
I know for a fact I slip in normal running shoes and don't in spikes. Need long spikes to get the effect if it's very muddy though.
Good fell running shoes with an aggressive profile are just as good though if not better when it's very muddy.
on mixed surfaces or not so muddy courses I have used inov-8 more precisely one of the trailroc models if my memory serves
http://www.inov-8.com/New/Global/product-select-off-road-mens.asp?L=26&A=Trail&G=Male
site does not come up with firefox here, but with chromium
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 the course is lots of concrete wear flats. If it is a golf course type xc course wear spikes. I think spikes help a bit with hills also which hasn't been mentioned.
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."
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.
So because all the course YOU and YOUR team race on are mostly concrete, XC spikes are worthless for everyone. Got it. Typical high school idiocy here.
Where are you from? I've never heard of a mostly concrete xc course.
And I find the spikes help mostly on mud and wet grass to prevent slipping.
Positive Contribution 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.
So because all the course YOU and YOUR team race on are mostly concrete, XC spikes are worthless for everyone. Got it. Typical high school idiocy here.
I agree that it's dumb to generalize all XC courses and all spikes for everyone, but didn't you just generalize all high schoolers the same exact way? Typical LetsRun idiocy there
foot coverings are an option.
If its muddy and sloppy go barefoot. If its road, wear flats, grassy in spikes.
Your problem is you're a rule follower. And they don't win too often.
After you've run your first XC race in Ireland, post again