Just as soccer and football cleats offer grip on a grass field, spiked shoes provide traction and speed on a track-and they're much lighter than a training shoe. But finding the right spiked shoes for your needs is not always a clear-cut proposition.
Not All Spikes Are Alike
There are spikes designed for short sprints, long sprints, middle distances, long distances, cross country, the steeplechase, and field events. Some spiked shoes are cushioned like a training shoe. Others, in the interest of saving every ounce of weight, are stripped down to the bare essentials. The actual spike part of the shoe is called a "pin." Some shoes have three, others as many as eight. A spiked shoe may have a significant heel, no heel at all, permanent pins, or replaceable pins. Some even have holes to allow water-or as the steeplechasers for whom they're made like to joke, the blood-to run out.
With so many choices, even world-class athletes admit to being flustered by the array of options. Two-time Olympian Marla Runyan recalls once heading to the track with eight different pairs of shoes, and running her warm-up strides in each pair to test them out. "I am very picky about my racing spikes," she says.
The Right Spikes For You
Greg Weich, track and cross-country coach at girls' state champion Smoky Hill High School in the Denver area, says athletes should first decide on the purpose of their spikes: for sprinting, distance running or field events.
Sprint spikes are designed to put an athlete on his or her toes and, to save weight, have little or no heel. The spike plate (the forefoot platform into which pins are mounted) of a sprint shoe also has the maximum number of pins to provide as much traction as possible.
By comparison, track distance shoes have a relatively substantial heel, in some cases with the same lightweight cushioning material found in training shoes, to accommodate the more flat-footed landing of a distance runner. Distance shoes also have fewer pins, usually between three and seven.
Buying Spikes: Price and Fit
Spikes can vary greatly in price, with high-end models $100 and up. These are lightweight models with quality construction in the heel. Weich says most runners can obtain a good enough pair in the $50 range.
A specialty running store is the best place to find spikes, because the staff will guide you through the process, and make sure you end up with the best spike for your foot and your event. Of course, not all specialty stores carry a big selection of spikes. If you have to turn to the Internet for your spikes, be sure to discuss your needs beforehand with your coach or another knowledgeable running-shoe person.
Choosing the right size is a matter of taste. Many athletes prefer a tighter fit from their spikes, sometimes moving down as much as a full size from their training shoes. Other runners find smaller sizes too snug. Try on several models to find the best fit.
"You don't want to feel your toe cramped up against the front of the shoe," says Weich. "A spike should feel like it was meant for your foot, a little more snug than a training shoe feels."
Spikes' Wear and Care
How long will a pair of spikes last? Most spikes should hold up for at least two to three high school seasons (and they generally feel better the more they get used). Distance runners who compete in both cross-country and track can sometimes use the same spikes for all seasons. There are spikes designed specifically for cross-country. They tend to have a rubber sole with a better grip on rough or muddy cross-country surfaces.
The most important consideration for cross-country spikes is the length of pin to use. While quarter-inch pins are the norm for use on a track, three-eighth-inch pins are standard for cross country. However, muddy conditions call for a longer pin, say, a half-inch or five-eighths of an inch. For a course with lots of pavement or very firm dirt, it's best to insert plugs in place of the pins. Specialty running shoe stores and the Web are the best bets for finding extra pins and plugs. Cross-country flats, which have rubber nubs where pins would be in a spiked shoe, are another alternative.
Quick tips for taking care of your spikes:
* Never run in spikes without inserting pins or plugs first. All it takes is a piece of gravel to lodge in the hole and you're down as much as a sixth of your traction on one foot.
* Don't twist the pins too hard when inserting them. Aim for 1/16 of a revolution past tight and no further, says Weich.
* Wet spikes? Don't even think about putting them in the clothes dryer (same goes for regular running shoes). Stuff the toe with fistful of newspaper and put them near a heat vent or another warm spot. They should be dry by the next day.
* Allow adequate time to adjust to running in spikes, particularly a new pair, before racing in them. Do a light workout or strides in them two or three times before you race in them. Otherwise, you risk cutting up your foot, as 2004 Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein once did when he competed in a new, untested pair of spikes.
* To wear socks or not to wear socks? The thought of bare feet in a pair of spikes is pure bliss to some, kind of gross to others, but either way, going sockless invites blisters. A thin sock is a good compromise.
Elite athletes on spikes:
Two-time Olympian Marla Runyan, on her favorite pair of spikes:
"Since I started off as a sprinter in college, running the 400, hurdles and competing in the heptathlon, I wanted the lightest, most flexible spikes I could find. When I ran the 1500 for the first time, I wore a pair of sprint spikes designed for the 400. In these spikes, I ran personal bests for 1500 and 3000 and won the nationals 5000. Although the spikes were not ideal for distance, I made them work and they will always have sentimental value."
Two-time NCAA 10,000 champion Alicia Craig, on cross-country spikes:
"In cross-country, I prefer spikes that are sturdy as opposed to some of the lighter options. I figure that the extra weight is worth it since the sturdier models support my feet on uneven ground. I don't really like to get new spikes that often, even if they are the same model I've been wearing. I like going into a race and having something on my feet so familiar that I don't even think about them."
