It’s that time of year, cross country time, and with it the yearly dilemma of what shoes are best, trail or spikes. Simple answer, whatever is more likely to keep you upright in the conditions you are going to run over, or the firmer the ground, trails have an advantage, the more mud then its spikes.
This is my personal opinion and the debate over footwear will go on and on, I used to find XC hard anyway and soon developed an aversion to doing long stretches of it with my face closer to the ground than my feet, hence my preference for spikes. I find that trail shoes are excellent for a course that is harder underfoot and provide good grip in icy conditions, they can cope with an amount of mud and offer a lot of support to the ankles. Cross Country spikes sometimes do not offer as much support but they do have more than track spikes, they usually have a more flexible base to allow for the constant change in terrain and distances you are running over. They also offer the option of being able to change the pins/studs you attach to them, that is if you remember to bring the spanner and spares. Replacement pins for the shoes are readily available {£2 Start Fitness) and at most cross-country events you will get away with either 9, 12 or 15 mm depending on the condition of the course as a guideline the deeper the mud and amount of it, the longer the pin. Remember though on some courses it doesn’t matter what you wear the chances are you will end up with your nose in the mud, last year’s Northerns at Blackburn being an example. As I said it’s all down to opinion and preference, don’t you just love Cross Country!!