How to Buy Track Spikes

Wearing a pair of well-fitting track spikes during a race can help you run your best time while avoiding injury. Because of their metal pins, they have tremendous grip on the track, but because of their light weight and strike plates, they also have a lot of spring and flexibility to them. This makes running in spikes more akin to running barefoot, which helps you to achieve your best running form.

Instructions

    • 1

      Buy a pair of spikes designed for your event. Running spikes can be roughly divided into three categories: sprint spikes for up to the 200 meters, middle distance spikes for 400 meters to the 800 meters, and distance spikes for the mile and up.

    • 2

      Get a shoe with the right kind of strike plate for your event. Sprint spikes often have a rigid strike plate that's lifted to keep you from running on your heels. Middle-distance and distance strike plates are lower to the ground and more flexible than the sprints.

    • 3

      Look for a shoe whose strike plate suits your running style. This mainly applies to sprinters, who will need to choose between long, short and composite strike plates. The long plates are the most rigid and are good for power runners, whereas the shorter plates are much more flexible and conform to the foot.

    • 4

      Buy shoes that fit like a glove, literally. Extra room in the end of the shoe will inhibit your mechanics and slow you down.

    • 5

      Try on as many different shoes as you can, and ask the salesperson if you can take them out on a track for a test run. If they say no, put the shoe through its paces in the store. Jog around and sprint in place to get a feel for how the pair performs.

    • 6

      Buy whichever shoe feels the "fastest" to you. This means the shoe should fit comfortably and flex with your foot in all the right places.