Promised my sprinter daughter new spikes for senior year. Never runs over 400m but has always had a regular (slight heel. plate only on forefoot) spike. The new spikes she wants are true sprinter spikes with the longer hard plastic along the length of the shoe, no real heel, keeps the toes up. Soucony, I think. Does the sprint spike make any sort of measureable difference over the other (cheaper!) spikes? IE, improved performances? or is it just psychological?
Thanks.
Courtney's mom
True sprint spikes are much heaver than distance spikes.
The biggest difference for long sprinters (200/400) is the heel, and the biggest difference is keeping the heel up easier going around curves, and the 400 (because you are running one of the curves close to top speed, not right out of the blocks) is one place where you will see this difference. Distance spikes are actually not that bad for 100, but as soon as you try to sprint around a curve, they slow you down.
For shorter sprinters there are two other differences:
(1) Harder plate which means higher energy return, and that means better speed maintenance at the end of 100 and 200.
(2) Placement of spike receptacles to provide better traction coming out of blocks.
Sprint spikes are not necessarily a lot heavier, just that Nike is selling old-style junky ones to the public. Mine (Asics Japan Lite-ning) is 5 ounces, and by comparison the Nike sprint spikes feel like a Brooks Beast. Adidas has a couple lighter than that (but the lightest one is over $200). Usain Bolt's signature spike from Puma is also lighter than the Nike spikes.
The ones with no heel tend to require better biomechanics from the athlete. And you do not need a full-length plate, although that is the new design style.
No, they're a marketing gimick. Just like cheese.
Pantaloon-ies wrote: Just like cheese.
How can you say pule from Serbia's Zasavica Farms is a gimmick? URdaft
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFbiPqHxHRssprint spikes aren't necessarily more expensive... if you do some shopping online you can find any kind of spike over the entire price range ($20 - $150)
Thank you coach d! I appreciate your thoughtful and thorough answer. She will be wearing these in college too so I don't mind a little extra $ if it worth it. I did that with a pair of soccer cleats last year, and we really got our money's worth. she still uses them, they look great, (show little wear for two years) and are practically water-proof.
Got any suggestions for chronic shin splints (she gets them every season (soccer and track) because 1, training moves to 6 days a week, and 2, they make her do these toe-tap things that ALWAYs trigger the shin splints and when she refuses to do them the coaches get mad. (sad). She usually ends up suffering all season long (KT tape is a God-send)but it dramatically impacts her training. Her shinsplints are now developing in the calf more than the usual inside shin. 24x7 aching muscle.
No heel
Talk to her coaches about the shins splints. It sounds like they dont have your daughters best interest in mind if they force her to do an exercise that always gets her injured
For sprints you generally want a firm flat spike. She will notice a difference with sprint spikes. Girls will usually make more improvement with better shoes/training etc because there is more to improve. But, there's also an increased risk of injury.
The better sprint spikes will be stiffer to minimize energy loss and encourage power. There is a difference.