I have my Regional XC meet tomorrow. Course will have an inch of snow and be muddy and sloshy. Wondering what length of spike is recommended?
3/8? 1/2? Full inch? How long is too long?
I have my Regional XC meet tomorrow. Course will have an inch of snow and be muddy and sloshy. Wondering what length of spike is recommended?
3/8? 1/2? Full inch? How long is too long?
1/2"
is it possible for you to run in similar conditions and experiment? Ideally, you'll want to have experienced atleast a mile jog in the footwear and spikes, so you know what it feels like.
talk to your coach or other teammates who may have raced in similar conditions to see what works for them, especially that course.
Good luck man, I never got to race in the snow. Sounds like it'll be a good experience for you!
You may have difficulty finding anything longer than 5/8". It depends on the shoe and how the spike seats into the plate and how thick the rubber of the sole is. I would think that 1/2" would be about right for most shoes.
Run in cleats instead.
Post below pretty much sums it up. Aside from being uncommon, anything longer than 5/8" may not be permitted.
sheltered wrote:
You may have difficulty finding anything longer than 5/8". It depends on the shoe and how the spike seats into the plate and how thick the rubber of the sole is. I would think that 1/2" would be about right for most shoes.
We know high school and college XC runners are highly motivated the first 800m of XC races. Unless you're going out first 800m, sub-2:05, you could hurt someone with long spikes. One inch spikes are very heavy. One inch spikes were for sprinters on cinder/dirt tracks. I would be surprised if meet officials would allow you to race in one inch spikes. Why risk a DQ?