either fake or daft. if daft -- literally when you show up to the meet? you might be there hours before you run. residing on/under concrete/metal stands. or in a tent on concrete. wearing low durability shoes. with spikes that come out easy. with spikes that wear down. with spikes you want sharp and tight to help you go fast as possible. i also felt some value to changing into lighter spikes from heavier trainers right at race time.
the longer i was at it, the more i was in trainers in the stands/tent/warming up, in spikes only at check in and the track, spikes off end of race, bare feet/socks back to the team area. running shoes only if i had an hour to kill to the next one. i would sometimes even warm up barefoot.
Do they put their cleats on right before the race or as soon as they get to the meet ?
How could you possibly think someone would put on their spikes as soon as they get to a meet? Some meets last all day. You seriously thought that maybe some people wear spikes all day?
Do they put their cleats on right before the race or as soon as they get to the meet ?
How could you possibly think someone would put on their spikes as soon as they get to a meet? Some meets last all day. You seriously thought that maybe some people wear spikes all day?
Occasionally I work out with a small local club. Dudes will put on their spikes for their jogging warmup and keep them on for the cooldown. I went to one of their meets and it's ~30 minutes before the first gun goes off. What do I see? A kid in singlet, splits, and spikes, seemingly ready to roll. Not that this is a good idea, but people do it.
to be fair, i am speaking for college/adult me. i am sure 7th grade me wore my spikes into the stands sometimes. but then 7th grade me would accept and compete in a pair of no-brand spikes from the school storage box, while soccer me bought his own cleats and was snooty which ones. and varsity/college me really worked on keeping the whole pre-race thing very zen. pre-varsity me was a tight, nervous mess and at least in junior high, a pacing kamikaze. when you start to figure out what really works better you change your processes and find old you kind of dumb.