Cross Country Shoes

Fall 2010

by Cregg Weinmann

Cross Country 2010 toes the starting line with something fresh—fresh air, fresh school year, and a fresh batch of spikes and flats designed to dig into the terrain of the toughest courses around. Here we take our annual look at eight newly released or updated cross country shoes for fall. All are low-profile models that skimp a bit on protection in favor of performance.

Deciding whether you should go for traditional XC spikes or a spikeless model should be based on the racing surfaces you’ll encounter during your season. Cross country spikes are slightly better than spikeless shoes at gripping muddy or soggy ground, but they are limited to use on all-natural courses and are not allowed for high school use in California. Spikeless models work almost as well as spikes in the mud and in addition, they manage pavement, sidewalks, and rocky surfaces and work well on indoor or outdoor tracks.

Finally, alway try to get in a few speed sessions in your racing shoes before the actual race, since the low profile of the shoe coupled with the intense effort of racing can be tough on your soft tissue if you haven’t prepared well. Okay, that’s out of the way, so it’s on to the shoes …