It’s been a few years since I ran any sort of XC race, and even then I was just kind of dicking around, so I never paid much attention to shoes, just getting what seemed to work. Does anybody have experience with trying either spikeless cross country shoes or spikes with blanks put in them on more technical runs with possibly some off-camber rocks (ie, XTERRA Richmond coming to mind)? I’m due for a new pair of trail running shoes and I am considering this avenue.
Brooks do a Mach 12 Spikeless cross country shoe.
FYI it comes up 1/2 size smaller than normal Brooks sizing and is fairly narrow.
Weighs hardly anything though!!
D.
where have you been? The Mach 14 is out now…
Right, I’m looking specifically at that one. My question though, is how is that on rocky sorts of surfaces? What is the difference between a blanked-out regular XC shoe, a spikeless XC shoe, and a trail shoe, specifically with respect to running on uneven hard surfaces?
The differences on softer surfaces or more sure footing I’m pretty clear on, but I never ran in spikeless shoes or even blanked out ones when I was in high school. Our courses also didn’t have rocky surfaces the way many trail runs do. I’ve been doing trail running in a Montrail Rogue Racer for the last year-plus, but even as a relatively lightweight trail shoe, it feels a bit clunky for me.
I did a 15 km mixed surface trail race (gravel, sand, rock, grass, mud) in Asics Gel Dirt Dogs, which are marketed as an XC spike. They can take conventional pins, but they also came with the golf-style cleats in the pic below. I found them to be a perfect compromise for the different surfaces. They gave enough traction on soft surfaces without feeling strange on rocks like pins would. I haven’t seen other products like this, which is a shame.
http://i46.tinypic.com/9hunw2.jpg
If you decide to go with XC spikes, make sure you spend some time getting used to them in training. The feel and impact on the body is quite different than most trail shoes.
Blanked out spikes are going to feel just like spikes on hard surfaces like cement. Spikeless is going to be just like a lightweight trail shoe. I use xc spikes to race but only when it is a true xc course (ie no pavement, no rocks etc).
I have used both spikeless and lightweight trail shoes. I love running in spikeless XC shoes, but on rocky trails, the rocks can hurt, or make one have to run very carefully. I have some NB 101s and can’t wait to were them out to get the 110 because I prefer a low heel. The Rock Stopper on the forefoot of those NB shoes is great on the trail. And, those models of NB are nearly as light as spikeless XC flats.
I used to train and race in Nike Waffle Racers (on the road and off). They’re too narrow for me now, but they were great at the time.
Depends on the shoe, less on the blanks vs. pins thing I would imagine… The more rubber the better I would think. Some XC shoes that have sort of a harder almost plasticky sole would probably suck with blanks over hard surfaces like rocks. Pins on rock would suck too were it not for the rubber. Basically, climbing shoes are rubber for a reason.