A quick note: KISH sells running spikes, new and pre-owned. We've written this the way we write everything in the Lab — to be useful to you, whatever you end up buying and wherever you buy it.
Every athletics season brings the same question from parents: does my child need spikes? In Dubai the question has a sharper edge, because spikes cost from about AED 350 to around AED 1,200 here, and junior sizes are hard to find. So it's worth knowing what they actually do.
The short answer: spikes do make runners faster, by a small but real margin — though almost all the evidence comes from trained athletes, and most of it from sprints. For a child under about 11 they're rarely worth it, and Australia's Little Athletics and New Zealand's Colgate Games don't allow them for the youngest children at all.
What a spike actually is
A spike is a light, thin racing shoe with a plate under the forefoot that holds pins — usually removable metal ones. Sprint spikes are the most extreme: stiff, with almost no heel, built to keep you up on your toes. Middle-distance and distance spikes are a little softer and have some heel. All-round and junior spikes sit in between, which makes them a common first pair. Cross-country spikes take longer pins for grass and mud. Like any racing shoe, spikes are built for races, not everyday wear.
The pins matter too. World Athletics allows up to 11 pins, each up to 9mm long, on an outdoor synthetic track — but the track's manufacturer or the stadium can set a lower limit, and some do. Mondo, which has laid recent Olympic tracks, recommends pins of no more than 6mm, and is reported to favour pyramid or "Christmas tree" shapes; some tracks and competitions ban needle-shaped pins or allow only pyramids.
How much faster? What the research says
Spikes against trainers. The most direct test we found comes from Spain. Nine regional- and national-level male sprinters, average age 17½, ran 40 metres from blocks in spikes and in their own running shoes. They were 2.6% faster in spikes — 0.14 seconds. About a third of that came from the spikes simply being lighter (180g against 282g); the rest came from the sole itself, its grip and stiffness together. The same test in women found 1.8%.
Stiffer isn't automatically faster. A 2004 study of 34 sprinters found that making their spikes stiffer improved their times slightly on average — but the best stiffness differed from athlete to athlete, and two later studies found no benefit on average at all. A stiffer, pricier spike is not a guaranteed upgrade.
"Super spikes" add a little more, for trained runners. These newer spikes use bouncy racing foam, often with a stiffer plate. In a study of highly trained (but not elite) runners doing 200-metre repeats at what felt like their 800m or 1,500m race pace, runners were 2.1% and 1.6% faster in two commercial super spikes than in a traditional spike — they took longer strides, not quicker ones — while a third model made no significant difference. The authors caution that this may not fully carry over to a race. Lab tests of running economy, the oxygen it costs to hold a given pace, find savings of about 2%. And among the world's top 100 performers from 800m to 10,000m, race times since super spikes arrived have been about 0.9% faster than the earlier trend predicted, with the smallest gains in the fastest events.
In sprints, the super-spike effect is smaller still. In a double-blind trial of 21 sprinters, super spikes made a 30-metre sprint about 0.02 seconds faster on average — less than a one-metre-per-second tailwind would — and only four were individually faster. A smaller study of 12 sprinters found about 1.3%.
In 2022, the team behind the middle-distance study wrote that it's unlikely anyone will be able to "put an exact number" on the benefit. All of these studies used trained athletes; a few included older teenagers, but none tested recreational runners or younger children.
What about children?
There's very little research on children and spikes, and what exists is mixed. In a Greek study of 33 young athletes with an average age of 12, spikes made no significant difference over 30 metres compared with running shoes or bare feet. In another, 43 children with an average age of 10½ ran 1,000 metres significantly faster in spikes. Both studies were small.
The more important study is about injury. A year-long Swedish study followed 101 young athletes aged 12 to 15. Among those training less than six hours a fortnight, the ones who trained in spikes had about six times the risk of a first injury. The uncertainty around that figure is very wide, the study didn't report which injuries the spike users had, and it shows a link rather than proof that spikes caused anything. But it's the only study of its kind we found, and it was in exactly the age group most likely to be starting out in spikes. How much they train matters too — see how much running is too much.
Why might spikes add load? Sprint spikes have little or no heel, so the calf and Achilles tendon work harder on every stride. World Athletics warns even adult beginners that their first sessions in spikes put a lot of pressure on the calves, and research on super spikes has measured higher forces through the calf and ankle. In growing children, the Achilles pulls on the growth plate at the back of the heel — the cause of Sever's disease, which paediatric guidance says is often worse in shoes with little heel lift. We explain it in our guide to heel pain in active children.
Children's athletics rules are cautious too:
- Australia: Little Athletics doesn't allow spikes for under-9s and under-10s. Under-11s and under-12s can wear them only in races run in lanes, the jumps and the javelin, and pins are limited to 7mm on synthetic tracks.
- New Zealand: at the Colgate Games, open to club athletes aged 7 to 14, spikes are allowed only in the 10-to-14 age grades, with 6mm pins on the track; younger children can't wear shoes that take spikes at all.
- UK: we found no national age rule. UK Athletics' 2021 shoe-rule guidance encourages officials to use discretion at entry-level events — for example, when a child races in trainers because they don't own spikes.
- UAE: we found no published spike rule for DASSA or the Dubai Schools Games, which says it follows World Athletics guidelines. The 2026–27 handbook for the BSME Games — the competitions for British schools across the Middle East — says competitors must wear trainers for all events. The line sits in its field-events sections, so ask your school whether it covers track races too.
So when does a child actually need spikes?
- Under about 11: no. A good pair of trainers is fine for sports day, club training and races — and in some competitions the rules say trainers anyway.
- Around 11 to 13, racing regularly on a track with a coach: maybe. Start with an all-round or distance spike that has some heel, not a sprint spike. Keep them for races and the odd short speed session rather than everyday training, and build up gradually, starting with a few strides. Put them on just before an event and change back into trainers afterwards. This is the age group in the Swedish study, so keep spike sessions few and short — and these are also peak years for Sever's heel pain.
- Teenagers racing seriously: yes, event-specific spikes make sense. Super spikes — racing foam, with or without a carbon plate — are a separate question. We've set out in our piece on super shoes why we'd wait until the mid-teens and keep them for race day.
- Whatever the age: ask the coach or school before buying. Rules on spikes and pin length vary by track and by competition.
- If your child has heel pain: spikes are the wrong answer until it has settled — and see a GP or physio if it lingers.
Cross-country: often not needed
We found no controlled study comparing spikes with trainers in cross-country. The brand and retailer advice we found agrees, though: spikes earn their place on soft, wet or muddy ground, and aren't needed on firm, dry courses, where trainers or trail shoes do the job. Little Athletics Victoria doesn't allow spikes in cross-country at any age, and World Athletics leaves cross-country pin lengths to each race. Dubai's cross-country season runs through the cooler, drier months — but grass here is irrigated, so check whether your child's course runs soft before deciding.
Buying spikes in Dubai
Price and availability. When we checked UAE shops in September, entry-level spikes cost about AED 345–350, Nike's Zoom Rival range AED 450–480, plated spikes AED 600–880, and top-end racing spikes AED 750–1,200 at full price — often more than the same models list for abroad. Junior sizes were the hardest to find: the only branded junior spike we found, at AED 299–329, was sold out.
Fit. Spikes should fit snugly — at least as close as your child's trainers, never roomier — with no heel lift and toes lying flat rather than curled. Don't buy a size up to grow into: a foot that slides loses grip, rubs into blisters and puts the pins in the wrong place. Try them on with the socks your child will race in, and measure their feet first.
Pins. For the track, 6mm pyramids are the safe choice for most synthetic surfaces; keep the small spike key that comes with them. Loosen the pins after each race, and re-tighten them before the next, so they don't seize — and replace any that are rounded or bent.
Second-hand. Children often outgrow spikes before they wear them out, so a used pair can be good value — if the plate, pins and threads check out. Make sure a pin screws in firmly at every socket (new pins can't fix a stripped thread), that none has rusted in, and that the plate and upper are sound. If you're buying from a listing, ask the seller for a clear photo of the plate and pins.
The bottom line
Spikes are a real advantage for a trained runner on a track: about 2% over a short sprint compared with trainers in the studies we found, and perhaps 1–2% more from super spikes at middle-distance pace in tests — though elite race times have improved by under 1% on average. For children under about 11 there's little evidence of benefit, and the rules often say no. The one injury study, in 12- to 15-year-olds, linked training in spikes with more injuries — so even when spikes make sense, keep them for races and short sessions. Wait until your child is around 11 or older, racing regularly on a track, and their coach agrees; then start with a modest, all-round pair that fits properly. And for cross-country on firm, dry ground, trainers will usually do.
Sources
- Corbí-Santamaría P, Jiménez-Velayos A, Corbí-Santamaría M & García-López J (2018), RICYDE 14(53) — spikes versus running shoes over 40m in male sprinters.
- Jiménez-Velayos A & García-López J (2017), RICYDE 13(49) — the same test in female sprinters.
- Stefanyshyn DJ & Fusco C (2004), Sports Biomechanics; Smith G et al. (2016), Footwear Science; Nagahara R et al. (2018), Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness — spike stiffness.
- Bertschy M et al. (2024), Journal of Sport and Health Science — super spikes at 800m and 1,500m pace.
- Joubert DP et al. (2024), International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance; Needles BJ, Kim S & Grabowski AM (2026), European Journal of Applied Physiology — running economy in super spikes.
- Needles BJ & Grabowski AM (2024), Journal of Applied Physiology — top-100 race times since super spikes.
- Bernuz B et al. (2024), Sports Medicine – Open; Gerlach et al. (2025), Footwear Science — super spikes in sprinting.
- Healey L, Bertschy M, Kipp S & Hoogkamer W (2022), Sports Medicine — on measuring the benefit of super spikes.
- Pilianidis T et al. (2014), Journal of Physical Education and Sport and Human Movement — spikes in children.
- Ek A, Kowalski J & Jacobsson J (2022), Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport — spikes and injury in youth athletics.
- World Athletics, Athletic Shoe Regulations (in force from 20 April 2026) and "How to start track running".
- Mondo, track maintenance guidance.
- Little Athletics Australia, Standard Rules for Competition 2026–27; Little Athletics Victoria, Competition Rules 2026/27; Athletics New Zealand, 2027 Colgate Games Meeting Rules; UK Athletics, shoe-rule FAQs (2021); BSME Games Handbook 2026–27.
- American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org), on Sever's disease.
- ASICS, Fleet Feet, Road Runner Sports and Runners Need — manufacturer and retailer advice on cross-country, fit and pins.
- UAE retail prices checked by KISH in September 2026. Prices change often.