Track Shoes For Sprinters

     Sprinting track spikes were probably used as early as the mid 1800's (about 1850). The earliest patent I could find was 1902 (as shown).

     A whole $5 (five dollars). This doesn't seem like much, now. Then, if you realize that people were paid about a dollar a day back then, it seems outrageous. So, a single pair of track shoes for a sprinter was about 5 days of normal wages (wow).

     Well, sporting equipment does tend to be a bit expensive. Why should sprinting shoes be any different.

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     These two pairs of shoes for track are 1930 and 1952 vintage. As you can see, they are constructed mostly of leather. They probably used cow or pig hide as it was most prevalent.

     Cow hide is pretty tough material, but not too light. Feather light is what an elite sprinter really wants. The extra weight might slow us down a few hundredths of a second. It could cost the race!

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     So, our friends "Down-Under" provided a great solution. Kangaroo hide. This stuff was very thin, very tough and very light. It even feels kind of nice on the skin. A great material to use in shoes for track.

     The track shoes on the left are a 1969 vintage. If you look closely, you'll notice another detail you don't see in the older sprint shoes... Plastic! The spike plate is a hard plastic while the rest of the shoe bottom is a soft pliable plastic.

     A short distance sprinter doesn't need much of a heel on the shoe as they shouldn't touch the ground with their heel anyway.

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     Plastic changed things forever. This 1980's track shoe really shows what plastic is all about.

     Only a military man could get that much shine out of leather. You may debate about whether it looks better or not. Regardless, plastic is here to stay!

     A couple more important changes happenned in the 1970's and 80's. Before 1970, most tracks were grass. Only the most elite college tracks were made of cinder or later, rubberized asphalt.

     Another important change was from yards to meters. Everyone else in the world had been on the metric system for years. America was finally catching up. While this didn't really change track shoes directly, indirectly it had a huge impact.

     Since the track coaches had to redesign the track anyway, they opted for the newer technologies (of course) like cinder or rubberized asphalt.

     People think the only reason for track shoes with removable spikes was easy replacement when they became dull. Well, the history of track spikes is interesting. Look at the two track spikes in the photo to the left. The left track spike is for grass, the right for rubberized asphalt.

     The little track spike wouldn't get traction in grass like the long track spike. The big track spike would dig in too deep, slow you down and rip up rubberized asphalt. It was eventually banned on cinder and asphalt anyway.

     In the 1970's, since you never knew which type of track you would run at next, it was simpler to carry a pill bottle full of different track spikes, just in case. Therefore, track shoes with removable spikes were the perfect answer.

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     In the current century, we have track shoes for sprinters that are made entirely of synthetic materials. These are so much better than the plastics of the 1980's or the earlier use of animal hides.

     Looking at different shoes, many use mesh materials with different materials in what appear to be a nice design. Really, the shoe manufacturer has designed in different support bands.

Womens Sprint Shoes

The result is the best track shoes for sprinters

Mens Sprinting Shoes