The XC thread

91 watchers

Fragile Do Not Bend Jan 2024 12:00pm, 5 Jan 2024 11,971 posts	0 Fragile Do Not Bend larkim here is the race distance info for Kent kcaa.org.uk Interestingly (or maybe it’s normal, I have no idea) the distances are different for the Kent championship race kcaa.org.uk
Fragile Do Not Bend Jan 2024 12:04pm, 5 Jan 2024 11,973 posts	0 Fragile Do Not Bend BTW I asked a question on this thread fetcheveryone.com/forum/cross-country-spikes-47699/ before realising it only had 5 watchers, but this one has 87
SPR Jan 2024 1:28pm, 5 Jan 2024 43,432 posts	0 SPR They aren't the same thing. XC spikes will normally have additional sole grip and cushioning. They may also be less aggressive than track spikes (and with track spikes sprint, MD and LD are different).
Fragile Do Not Bend Jan 2024 1:59pm, 5 Jan 2024 11,978 posts	0 Fragile Do Not Bend Ok thanks!
larkim Jan 2024 2:04pm, 5 Jan 2024 22,909 posts	0 larkim Though I would add for mere mortals like me, a pair of LD or MD spikes with 15mm pins in them are more than effective enough for most XC courses. I'm a "one pair of spikes" kind of guy, and the adidas LD spikes I wear on the track are the same ones that have served me well over a number of years of XC too, and will be what I will be wearing if I toe the line tomorrow.
larkim Jan 2024 2:10pm, 5 Jan 2024 22,910 posts	0 larkim These are what I run in on some pretty boggy and often quite hill (up and down) XC courses. Even though I'm a pretty neutral foot striker, even a heel strike probably with long spikes up front I have never found myself landing on the grip-free heel section because the spikes / pins always hit the ground first - and once they are on the ground the absence of any traction at the heel is irrelevant (to me):-
Hills of Death (HOD) Jan 2024 5:01pm, 5 Jan 2024 36,927 posts	0 Hills of Death (HOD) Our County Xc has been called off Sunday as it’s too ‘muddy’ 🙈
rhb Jan 2024 6:06pm, 5 Jan 2024 2,096 posts	0 rhb Hills of Death (HOD) there was an AW piece bemoaning this trend recently iirc.
SPR Jan 2024 6:18pm, 5 Jan 2024 43,433 posts	0 SPR XC spikes will usually have more cushioning than those spikes and will be less aggressive. I'm using the Dragonfly XC now though and they are more aggressive. I'd rather them over the track version which many use (the cushioning is the same and more akin to what you get on XC spikes being a superspike) due to the fit differences. Runners have been using track spikes for XC especially benign courses for a while though and pre the super spike era, on theory they would be lighter and faster. Even the dragonfly XC adds about 50g over the track spike.
SPR Jan 2024 6:19pm, 5 Jan 2024 43,434 posts	0 SPR I personally wouldn't use any track spike I've run in for XC even though I generally use LD spikes (despite being mainly a MD runner).