I was just wondering if having spikes made a huge difference in cross country, especially in muddy/bad terrain courses. The reason I ask is because I am abroad this term and competing for the school I am studying at. However, I forgot my xc spikes so would have to race in trainers. I don't really want to buy an extra pair unless they make a huge difference
If you race once in trainers and can't tell the difference between that and spikes, there is no reason to go buy new ones. I never noticed the benefits of spikes until I started getting down into the 18:30 range in high school.
If price is your only sticking point, running stores or online shops can usually offer last years model at a reduced price. I have not bought a current-year model spike and paid less than $100 for my last three pairs (2 xc, 1 track) together. Also, don't think that cheaper is necessarily worse. I own a pair of nike victory XC (list $120) and a pair of Saucony Kilkenny XC4 (list ~$50) and often prefer the Kilkennys.
It all comes down to what makes you comfortable and helps you run the fastest.
for pete's sake - I bought my nike spikes for $35 on ebay - listed for $120 retail. I'm sure you can find something similar.
I think spikes do make a big difference in xc, esp if the course is a mess.
I started XC late, junior year of college, but I never had spikes, raced in spikeless. I have worn spikes a few times post-college but I'm a lot slower now-I wore spikes just to try them and see how they felt. IMO for the courses I have run and the kind of racer I was (mid-pack on a mediocre college team) I don't think spikeless were a detriment. I'd say lightweight trainers would be more similar to spikeless than spikes, so I wouldn't have hesitated to race in my trainers back in the day.
Mostly I got spikeless so that I wouldn't be trashing my trainers in the mud. I think that's probably your best argument to buy a pair of spikes in your situation. If you race one day and it's muddy it's nice to have a fresh pair of shoes to train in the next day. As it's been pointed out above you can find cheap spikes online. Checking out eastbay they have spikes for as low as $10.
I grew up without the luxury of more than one pair or running shoes per season. Spikes were not an option for me, nor were they for the majority of the team, as we lived in a low-income district. I ran some fairly quick times in my trainers, but our courses were not that muddy in the fall weather. Not much rain in our area that time of the year, I guess.