Best Cross-Country Spikes For 2024
Updated: Oct 25
The best Cross-Country Spikes. Do you need them?
So, the summer season has come to an end, you have probably either been focusing on track running or road running for the past few months. However, now comes the cross-country season, and this is the part of the year whereby you build for the rest of the season. The work put in now will be the determining factor on how well you can perform next season, and cross-country can very much be used as a yardstick for how well your winter is going but even more than that, cross-country should be used as training during your base phase.
Winter cross-country is something that can help to strengthen physically and mentally to help you succeed for the following summer. If you look at the year where Joshua Cheptegei broke both the 5000m and the 10000m world record, he also won the World cross-country championships the winter leading into that track season, that is no coincidence.
However, with the big running shoe revolution going on at the minute it is easy to get lost in which shoes are the best, I mean every year marathoners wear different super shoes, and track runners have spikes which are the absolute next best thing but now you can ever get super spikes for cross-country to make things even more confusing!
Luckily, these are nowhere near as expensive but are not used as much as road or track super shoes. I mean lining up on a road race you're going to see literally everyone wearing super shoes. However, in cross-country, they don’t dominate quite as much yet as runners aren’t as clued in about what spikes are best.
This means you can get a huge advantage over your competitors by investing in a pair of super cross-country spikes! The best part is that they are a lot cheaper than track or road super shoes and they last A LOT longer because they are used a lot less.
Best cross-country spikes:
Nike Zoom X Dragonfly XC Cross-Country
Best budget cross-country spikes:
Nike Zoom Rival XC 6 Cross-Country Spikes
Best for injuries:
Hoka Crescendo XC Cross Country Spikes
Best cross-country spikes for 2024
Best overall Cross-Country spikes: Nike Zoom X Dragonfly XC Cross-Country
Now, these spikes are the cream of the top, the best of the best, the dogs... or whatever you want to say. These are the finest and fastest of the cross-country spikes and they were one of the first super shoes to become cross-country spikes.
The Nike Zoom X Dragonfly were the fastest spikes on the track and they are the spikes that have the world record for most distances, when Nike announced a cross-country version of these spikes there were high hopes and high expectations. Thankfully, these spikes have lived up to all expectations.
If you are serious about cross-country, whether it is representing your county, or nation or whether you are looking to score more points for your club, then these are 100% the spikes for you. Made with Zoom X foam, these super spikes will transform how you run cross-country.
Best budget cross-country spikes: Nike Zoom Rival XC 6 Cross-Country Spikes
The Rival XC line is one of Nike's all-time best lines of cross-country spikes, I have had a few different pairs and they have never disappointed. I even remember one year when the Nike Victory XC 5 came out and they were super hyped and everyone loved them, yeah they were very good, great even but nonetheless I ended up going back to my Nike rival XC from the previous season. Obviously, spikes are partly personal preference but these are some seriously good spikes. For the price they are at now, it is an absolute no-brainer if you are not going to go for the Nike Dragonflys. These are super cheap and are one of the best spikes out there!
It is worth pointing out that these are also made with the Zoom X foam for extra energy return.
Best for injuries: Hoka Crescendo XC Cross Country Spikes
Now, during my time as a runner I suffered many injuries (thankfully I managed to sort them all thanks to the ATGProgram and I now run completely pain-free), so I tried a pair of Hoka shoes for my easy runs and they were stable enough to help not make my injuries worse. In the end, I decided to try a pair of Hoka spikes and these spikes were sometimes the difference in me actually going and making the start line or having to sit a race out, the comfort and support they offer really helped me with my Achilles problems.
If you are someone who suffers from injuries then I would recommend that you try the ATG program, but also that you get yourself a pair of these spikes so that you can run your cross-country season. These spikes are also very fast spikes, so don't worry just because you are injured does not mean you don't also get a very fast spike.
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