Best Super Spikes & What Makes Them Super

Super spikes, the intricately designed, rigid-plated, super-foamed racing shoes, have become the standard for speed over the last few years. You have undoubtedly seen them on the feet of your favorite professional runners, dominating racing fields and dazzling atop podiums. Highly aggressive with incredible efficiency and responsiveness, super spikes help athletes reach their fastest times as they circulate tracks or cross-country courses. The type of spikes runners select to have on their feet on race day could mean the difference between a good time and a podium securing personal best.

Since their inception, there have been continued advancements with incredibly lightweight, super speedy designs that have accelerated athletes to all new heights and laid waste to previous race records. Nowadays, most top running shoe brands have super spike offerings with their unique supercritical foam designs and plate interpretations.

What puts the "super" into a super spike, you may ask? The answer to that secret lies within the midsole.

Super spikes are built with significantly more foam underfoot compared to the spike designs of the past. These innovative, supercritical compounds are amazingly resilient and hyper-responsive, offering unrivaled levels of protection while remaining as lightweight, responsive, and efficient as possible. Additionally, having this extreme cushioning-to-weight ratio helps reduce and slow the onset of fatigue, allowing runners to feel fresh for longer and ready to charge down the final stretches of the race.

The energy-saving advantages of the supercritical foam are further enhanced by the addition of stiff plate designs, which vary slightly depending on the specific type of spike and the distance it can conquer to accommodate the demands of the different races. Since the beginning of the super spike era, carbon-fiber and PEBAX plates have proven themselves as some of the fastest and most efficient. These plates provide a rigid platform to help runners stay hyper-efficient and save precious energy from stride to stride.

Long Distance (LD) super spikes are designed to cover longer distances quickly and are specifically engineered to meet the demands of the 3000m, steeplechase, 3200, Two-mile, 5000m, and 10000m track events.

These spikes typically feature shorter, less aggressive, more flexible plate designs with higher stack heights of foam in the midsole, offering a more comfortable underfoot experience yet maintaining the responsiveness and efficiency needed to go after your long-distance event PBs. LD spikes usually only feature four spike pins in the forefoot to help with traction and stability while working around corners. Above all, LD spikes are featherlight with a minimal and highly secure upper.

Typically found circulating the rubber surfaces of indoor and outdoor tracks, long-distance spikes have also been a recent favorite among cross-country athletes looking to gain an edge while tearing through grass and dirt surfaces.

The Nike ZoomX Dragonfly 2 is an incredible super spike that can do it all. While designed for longer distance track events (specifically the 5K and 10K), this spike is propulsive enough for the 800m race and yet offers sufficient protection to crush the 10K distance. This latest version comes with a full length of Nike's incredibly responsive ZoomX foam that has been engineered to be lighter, more responsive, and more durable making the Dragonfly 2 have a truly special underfoot feel, rebounding quickly during faster races and perfectly accommodating athletes when tackling longer events.

The shoe's rigid carbon-fiber plate increases stability and provides energy-saving stiffness, while the spike's rocker geometry and 4 spike pins allows for increased efficiency. With innovative, high-performing attributes wrapped up nicely in one of the lightest packages available on the market, the Dragonfly 2 is one of the best, and the proof is in the pudding on race day.

In recent years, the Nike Dragonfly line has claimed a handful of 5000m and 10000m world records and has been on the feet of countless professional, college, and high school athletes who have run unfathomable times with these spikes at their side. With this latest iteration, we will see those times continue to drop.

The results have clearly shown that the Dragonfly 2 beautifully delivers all the magic we have come to expect from a super spike, making it a top choice among athletes around the world. From 800m to 10K, runners can trust the Dragonfly 2 to carry them to their personal best performances.

The adidas adizero Avanti TYO has everything runners look for in a super spike, with a unique and innovative approach from the adidas team fueling this racer. The Lightstrike Pro foam has exponentially grown in popularity on the road marathon circuit, and track and field athletes have quickly adopted the foam to the track.

While most shoes have a plate in the midsole, the adizero Avanti TYO uses a design specific to the adidas adizero performance line. Instead of incorporating the plate, adidas employs their patented EnergyRod technology, which features "rods" placed under the metatarsal of the foot, creating a naturally snappy feel. These rigid rods and bouncy super foam deliver a highly efficient ride that runners can trust, especially for longer-distance events.

Now, the adizero Avanti does weigh in slightly heavier than its competitors, but that does not mean it is slower to the finish line. World-class athlete, Tobi Amusan, set a new World Record in the 100m hurdles at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon (yes, you read that right, a distance spike was worn to smash a world record in the 100m hurdles event). So the adidas adizero Avanti has more than proven that it has what it takes to deliver the elite performance you are looking for on race day.

Middle Distance (MD) super spikes are best suited for the 800m, 1500m, 1600m, and Mile track events, typically featuring slightly lower stack heights than their long-distance counterparts. With more aggressive plate designs that bring runners onto their forefoot, these mid-distance spikes create a more propulsive ride and faster top speeds. Conversely, MD super spikes still provide a healthy amount of supercritical foam underfoot to keep athletes protected through to the finish line.

In terms of pins, MD super spikes feature anywhere from 6-8 spikes underfoot, delivering even more traction to support cornering at fast paces. Once again, the impressively powerful midsole is highlighted by a lightweight upper that will keep you securely locked over the midsole, ensuring efficiency with a dose of comfort.

The Nike Victory line is a legend in the track and field world and has featured on the feet of athletes in almost every major track and field event in the last decade. The Air Zoom Victory 2 continues the model's legacy but now offers the super spike features needed to deliver next-level performances in the 800m up to Mile.

The Nike Air Zoom Victory 2 is designed with Nike's lightweight and all-around amazing ZoomX super foam in the midsole, which is also accompanied by an Air Zoom Unit and an aggressive carbon fiber plate, creating a shoe with an incredible balance of speed, efficiency, and race-day comfort. These super spike features allow a highly responsive underfoot experience and an impressively stable platform that gives runners what they need to stay up on their toes. When athletes lace up the Air Zoom Victory 2, they will undoubtedly feel they have the edge they need to go after record times.

While the Nike Air Zoom Victory 2 might be too aggressive for longer-distance races, this shoe exceeds expectations as a middle-distance specialty spike. The Air Zoom Victory 2 has the stability for powerful runners but also provides the lightweight ride that more finesse runners are looking for.

The Saucony Endorphin Cheetah is ready to chase down your competition in this elite-level track spike that is best suited for the 800 to 1500 meters. The midsole layer is highly responsive and propulsive yet protective and super lightweight, created with its ultra-resilient PWRRUN HG foam and a carbon plate. This pairing allows to get you on your toes quickly while giving a cushioned responsiveness as you push towards the finish line.

Underneath the Cheetah's innovative insole is a 6-pin Pebax spike plate that offers excellent traction and durability that will give you a fast and poppy experience while keeping your foot stable and you tear up the turns. Finally, the adaptable upper is composed of a breathable mesh that hugs your foot without added weight so you feel like you are floating on the track.

If you are a runner looking for the fastest, most aggressive spikes for the 100m, 200m, 400m, and hurdle events, you will want to find a sprint (SD) super spike. These spikes are designed with the most rigid plate constructions, which typically run the length of the shoe, keeping runners on their forefoot, minimizing ground contact time, and helping promote the most aggressive and efficient positioning. With sprint spikes, protection is less of a priority when trying to be the fastest over the sprinting events.

Because speed and efficiency are key in this category, SD spike uppers are incredibly minimal and offer a snug, glove-like fit, ultimately creating a highly streamlined design that minimizes any extra movement in the shoe. As you may have assumed, sprint spikes also feature the most pins, typically eight or more underfoot, and offer superior traction compared to long and middle-distance super spikes. There is little doubt that you will hit your personal best times and top speeds when wearing a sprint super spike.

The Nike Air Zoom Maxfly took the world of track and field by storm when it was first introduced, and it continues to be featured prominently on the biggest stages, thanks to its unique construction and incredible super spike performance features. We have seen world-class athletes lace up the Maxfly model for not only the 100m-400m but for the most important and fastest 800m races of the year as well.

This latest iteration of the Nike super spike has a full-length carbon Flyplate that works in combination with ZoomX foam to deliver maximum propulsion and energy return in the midsole while a new addition of a Dual Chamber Air Zoom unit features two separate air chambers to give dual action propulsion and stability. The reinforced Flyweave upper and redesigned outsole traction plate cater more towards sprint events, but for experienced athletes, this spike can be used as an extremely aggressive 800m spike.

Overall, the Maxfly 2 will offer sprinters the best super spike technology in an aggressively powerful package.

Cross-country (XC) spikes are similar to their long-distance counterparts, usually featuring higher stacks of foam in the midsole to provide the protection athletes need to conquer longer-distance races comfortably. These spikes also tend to be a little more forgiving underfoot, providing a slightly more flexible plate design that will keep things incredibly efficient without losing a natural feel.

Due to uneven cross-country course terrain, XC spikes are designed with more ankle support so that runners can remain secure and stable when weaving through the course. Additionally, these specialized spikes offer longer spike pins when compared to your typical track spike, promoting incredible grip that will enable runners to keep their pace on natural surfaces, even in wet, muddy conditions.

Joining the ZoomX party this cross-country season is the Nike ZoomX Dragonfly XC, an elite-level cross-country spike engineered to unlock your true potential on meet day. Featuring many of the same technologies and philosophies of the highly accomplished Dragonfly, the Dragonfly XC is ready to deliver the same explosive underfoot experience in a more durable package that is best suited to handle the elements out on the course.

Another new addition to the world of cross country is the SuperComp XC-X. Built with a soft and bouncy FuelCell foam midsole and carbon fiber plate, the XC-X offers the protection needed for XC races while delivering the performance benefits of a super spike. With a race-ready fit and 6-removable spike pins, this elite-level spike is designed to get you to the finish line faster than ever before.