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Ladies and gents,
I am going to try and compete in as many cross country races as I can this year and given this I have decided to buy myself a pair of spikes for them.
However, I am getting a little confused by what is on offer and what would be suitable for cross country purposes. I see plenty of spikes for sale from multiple manufacturers however they all appear to be advertised as either jumping spikes, sprint track spikes or distance track spikes. I cannot see any dedicated XC spikes.
Are distance track spikes suitable or am i missing a wholse subset of spikes during my internet trawl.
To make matters more interesting, my daughter has just been picked for her school cross country team (yay!) and also wants a pair in little person size. Again, will junior track spikes suffice or should I keep looking for XC spikes for her as well?
Any advise or recommendations for both pairs gratefully received.
Marcus.
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In my humble opinion If I went to buy some cross country shoes it wouldn't be spikes! You will find you will hardly ever use them on the track and when you do Gwent League the spikes will bend and they will be ruined in 5 minutes. I would recomend you speak to one of the real thinking runners in the club I.E Phill Cook or Mat Hurford who will definitely tell you the best thing to go for. They wear shoes with rubber studs which are better all around but don't take my word for it speak to them. I'm in a big transitional period at the moment. I'm literally starting everything from scratch but I don't feel stressed about it at all! I'm strangely ecstatic that I will be having a complete change of career and girlfriend! If your not happy with something what better way to fix it than to start again. I have had things get in the way of my running but not any more! I'm not getting into anything that gets in the way if I can help it. I would love to run every Gwent League its so frustrating having to miss them. Fingers crossed I can do a lot more things in future and train whenever I feel like it. Its so liberating to just get up and go for a run at midnight or whenever I fancy it! 
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Cheers for the reply Lyndon. Perhaps I will hold fire for a short while before I pull the trigger on new daps then. I must say, I am pretty dedicated to making sure I get my run in but even I draw the line at going out at midnight to run ;)
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Matt has both XC spikes and the studded fell shoes. What he wears will depend on the weather and the course. Spikes can be tricky if the course is particularly stony. However, in general I think most of us prefer to wear XC spiked shoes as the grip is better. If the weather is horrendous and the course is pretty much a bog, then nothing gives grip (!). You don't want anything heavy on your feet though, especially when getting wet and muddy.
XC spiked shoes definitely exist - just google that and you should find them online.
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Cheers Amanda.. I think I have found them now anyway. Pretty cheap compared to most running shoes so I may as well get a pair anyway.
For those less boggy courses I already have a couple of pairs of trail and fell style shoes so I am covered there.
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Marcus, Amanda has pretty much summed up very well what I was going to say!! Personally I like spikes as they give the best grip and are lightweight and feel like racing/track shoes with a spike. You have to buy specific xc spikes though, which the online websites will indicate. I wear Adidas xc spikes but have also used Saucony which are good. If the course is stony and multi terrain then I would use a good pair of fell shoes. But if it's mostly wet mud and grass I would go for a spike as you will get the best grip-that's my opinion but everyone has their own preference it's quite a personal thing. Jane
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Whilst you're out shopping you may as well get a snorkel and a pair of flippers because if we encounter another "Brecon '14" spikes and trail shoes are about as useful as a chocolate fireguard !!!!!
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Cheers for hte further reply Jane. In the end I have found and ordered specific XC spikes from Nike for both myself and my daughter. They were not very expensive so I won't feel so bad if they are not my cup of tea.
Evatt, I wasn't there for the "Brecon '14 XC challenge" but I have heard enough about it for it to be passing into Les Croupiers (and Gwent League) folkelore. I look forward to the season with the added hope that I will not be a casualty!
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Another very important factor to remember for cross country is ........cake. Bringing along something home made and being able to eat a fair few slices of the bountiful offerings is much appreciated. Also a great occasion for the family. Dress them up warm in wellies and tell them to shout loudly in support. Oooh yes, and thinking back to Brecon last year, do pack thermals. There is no shame in running with a thermal top under your club vest if it avoids hyperthermia. Men, take note!
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now im really confused, i havent got a clue what to get, if i need spikes and they got no cushioning i got 0% chance of wearing them because of my stupid foot and trail shoes havent got as much grip so i might slip i dont know what to do
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Well the first Gwent League is at Bridgend, and that's the flattest course. So if the weather continues to be dry and mild you might even get away with road shoes! Trial shoes are fairly inexpensive, so if you shop around you might get lucky price wise. XC spikes are worth buying if you really want to run all the XC races, but why not try a few races first.
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Hi Marcus,
I usually do the Gwent League cross country races and I am a firm advocate of using spikes. However it is a personal preference as I do not have the best balance and find that in muddy conditions particularly running up and down hills it gives me the best grip and stability. I change the length of spikes to suit the ground conditions and because of this it is important to clean the shoes and remove the spikes after each race otherwise the spikes will rust in. Perhaps the need to clean is a disadvantage and turn off for some.
If the weather carries on like it is I will probably be wearing ordinary road running shoes for the first Gwent League.
The spikes I am currently using was bought from Run and Become a number of years ago as I felt it was important to try them on before buying as they need to be a tighter fit than ordinary road running shoes. They were llabelled as cross country shoes.
I hope that this helps.
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Clive, t hanks for the advice. It certainly does help. In fact, I had a sneaky try on of the spikes in Run and Become today after work so I am comfortable with the fit of them. I would like the extra grip offered by spikes so I am willing to give them a chance.
I will certainly ensure I clean them after use, around the spikes for sure as I remember the trials of my youth trying to replace rugby / football studs that had rusted in!
Cheers
Marcus.
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Sarah, if it stays dry like this for the next week or two then the Bridgend course, which is relatively flat, should be runnable in standard road shoes or trail shoes. It was the very first XC I did, and I slipped and slid my way around in a pair of trail shoes because it had been so wet. Next week I went out and bought cx spikes. Even though I usually wear very supportive road shoes, the spikes have next to no support or cushioning but I get away with it cos the distances are relatively short and the mud provided the cushioning. Don't get too het up about footwear - for a first XC it's all about the enjoyment of cake and company :-)
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These are worn by a few of the quicker boys and have excellent reviews, I'm sure someone posted about these on the old forum. http://www.sportsshoes.c...iner-fell-running-shoes/
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Alun,
I recommend you use racing flats..
probably the only way i can finish ahead of you..
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I haven't used spikes for Cross Country since 1998, I use Cross Country studs - I find that they give better all over grip and you don't have to worry about what you are running over = tarmac/concrete, stones etc.
I used to send away a pair of old racing flats and have a new sole put on them, but the company I used have now stopped doing them, so I now use the Inov8 X-Talon 190.
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