Cross-Country and Track Shoes for Boys Who Wear Orthotics: Trainers, Spikes and Growing Feet

Running is the simplest sport to start and one of the easiest to overdo. A boy joins cross-country in the fall, runs track in the spring, and logs miles all summer in between. His running shoe is the easiest sports shoe to fit with an orthotic. His spikes are the hardest, and for good reason. This guide is for parents of boys from middle-school running clubs through varsity cross-country and track. It covers what the research shows about young runners and the injuries that matter most. It also explains how to choose a trainer for a wide, narrow, flat or high-arched foot. Finally, it shows where a custom orthotic fits, and where it does not.

Shopping for a daughter? Read our guide to cross-country and track shoes for girls. For every sport a high-school boy plays, see our varsity guide for boys. A teenager already in men's sizes can also use our men's running shoe guide.

What the Research Shows About Young Runners

Rauh and colleagues (2006) followed 421 runners on 23 high-school cross-country teams through one season. Injuries were common, at 17.0 for every 1,000 practices and races in that study. For boys, one of the strongest warning signs was a history of several running injuries. For the whole group, an injury during summer running before the season was one of the best predictors of another one. The pattern is simple. The boy who got hurt last season, or over the summer, is the one most likely to get hurt again.

Tenforde and colleagues (2013) followed 748 high-school runners for about two seasons each. In that study, 4.0 percent of the boys had a stress fracture. In boys, the bones of the foot were the most common site. A prior fracture raised the risk, and so did more seasons of running. Boys who had played basketball had fewer stress fractures in that study. The authors suggested that basketball may help protect a young runner's bones. Krabak and colleagues (2021) brought together an international panel on youth running. They found no evidence-based limit on how far a child should run at each age. Today's limits are expert opinion.

The Sore Spot on Top of the Foot

A stress fracture in a foot bone often starts as an ache on the top of the foot. It gets worse during a run and eases with rest. Later it hurts to walk, and one spot on the bone is tender to press. Swelling on the top of the foot is a late sign. A runner with that pattern should stop running and be seen that week, not after the next race. Early X-rays can look normal, so a normal film does not end the question. Read our guide on telling a fracture from a sprain.

Heel Pain in a Growing Runner

In a boy between about eight and fourteen, heel pain is usually irritation of the growth plate at the back of the heel. That is where the Achilles tendon pulls on bone that has not finished growing. Wiegerinck and colleagues (2014) found 3.7 cases for every 1,000 registered patients aged six to seventeen in Dutch family practices. Hills, spikes and a growth spurt all aggravate it. James and colleagues (2016) randomized 124 children with this heel pain to a heel raise or a ready-made orthotic. Every group had improved about the same amount by the end of the year in that trial. A cushioned trainer with a heel cup, calf stretches and fewer spike sessions help most boys keep running. Read more about heel pain that won't go away.

Trainers, Spikes and Racing Shoes

A young runner needs a daily trainer before he needs anything else. Choose a neutral running shoe with a firm heel counter, a removable insole and enough cushion for the surfaces he runs on. Nielsen and colleagues (2014) followed 927 new runners for a year in a neutral shoe. Foot posture, from very flat to very arched, did not predict injury in that study. Fit and comfort matter more than a shoe's label. Malisoux and colleagues (2015) followed 264 adult recreational runners. Those who rotated more than one pair of shoes had a lower injury risk in that study. For a boy running most days, two pairs of trainers that he alternates is a reasonable habit.

Spikes are a different tool. Cross-country spikes have a thin sole, a few short pins and a flexible plate. Track spikes for distance events are similar, and sprint spikes have a stiff plate and almost no heel. None of them has room for a device, and none of them is meant for training miles. Keep spikes for races and a few hard workouts a week at most, and do the rest in trainers. A boy with heel pain may do better racing in a cross-country flat without pins, or in his trainers, until the pain settles. Lace any running shoe to the top eyelet with a heel-lock loop. Hagen and Hennig (2009) found that snug lacing through all the eyelets lowered heel pressure and loading in runners without making the shoe less comfortable.

Getting an Orthotic Into a Running Shoe

A running trainer is the easiest sports shoe to fit with a device. It is deep, and nearly every one has a factory insole that lifts out. Take the insole out, set the orthotic in, and check that his heel still sits deep in the counter. Bring the trainers to the fitting. Spikes and racing flats are too thin for a device. If he needs his orthotic, the answer is less time in spikes, not a device crammed into them.

A flat foot alone is not a reason for an orthotic. Wenger and colleagues (1989) followed 129 children with flexible flat feet in corrective shoes, heel cups, custom inserts or nothing. The arches improved in every group, and the treated children did no better than the untreated ones in that trial. An orthotic earns its place in a runner's shoe when there is a problem to treat. Heel pain, an arch that aches after runs and pain under the ball of the foot all count. See our guide to flat feet in children and our guide to choosing running shoes for your foot type.

Match the Shoe to Your Son's Foot

Proper fit comes first. Klein and colleagues (2009) measured 858 preschool children and their shoes in Austria. Most wore shoes that were too short, and short shoes were associated with a big toe that angled outward. Measure both feet each season and fit the longer one. Leave about a thumb's width of room past the longest toe in his running socks.

Wide Feet

New Balance and Saucony are the brands to start with. In big kids' sizes, New Balance sells its Fresh Foam Arishi in medium, wide and extra-wide. Its FuelCell Rebel comes in medium and wide. Saucony sells its Endorphin KDZ in medium and wide. We found no spike in a wide; Saucony describes its Kilkenny XC as an accommodating fit on a wider base.

Narrow Feet

A narrow foot slides in a shoe built for a broad one, and a sliding foot blisters. Lace to the top eyelet with a heel-lock loop, and look for a trainer with a snug heel and midfoot.

Flat Feet

A flexible flat foot is common and usually does not hurt. In the Nielsen study, it did not predict injury. If it aches, a firm heel counter and an orthotic help more than a stiff shoe sold for stability. A stiff flat foot that does not form an arch on tiptoe needs an examination.

High Arches

A high-arched foot is stiff and lands hard on the heel and the ball of the foot. Choose a cushioned trainer with a roomy instep. If the top of the foot gets sore, lace around the high point of the instep.

Loose Ankles

Cross-country courses are uneven, and a loose ankle rolls on roots and ruts. A balance program helps, and a lace-up brace makes sense for a boy who has sprained an ankle before. Read our guide on strengthening after a sprain.

Cross-Country and Track Shoes for Boys to Try

No shoe company pays for placement here. No brand sponsors this article. Every shoe here is our own pick, based on the features above and on what we see in the office.

We do run a separate website, footshop.cc. Patients kept asking where to find the products we talk about in the exam room. So we built a separate site that keeps the links in one place. It includes links to Amazon and other retailers. Every affiliate link over there is disclosed where it appears. If you buy through one of those links, we earn a small commission. It costs you nothing extra. We run it as a convenience for our patients, not as a condition of care. You are free to buy any of these shoes anywhere you like, at whatever price you find, with or without our links. Our advice is the same either way.

Medical footwear is not part of that. Prescription shoes, inserts, boots and braces are never on our affiliate site. They are not a shopping link, and we will not treat them like one.

Trainers in Wide Widths

• New Balance Fresh Foam Arishi (big kids'): sold in medium, wide and extra-wide at Zappos.
• New Balance FuelCell Rebel (big kids'): sold in medium and wide at Zappos.
• Saucony Endorphin KDZ (kids'): sold in medium and wide on Saucony's site.

Trainers in One Width

• HOKA Clifton (youth): one width. HOKA describes its sockliner as molded and removable.
• ASICS GT-1000 (grade school): one standard width, on what ASICS calls a kid-specific last.
• Saucony Guide KDZ (kids'): one medium width, which Saucony describes as a broader last with a wider base.
• Nike Pegasus (big kids'): one width, with what Nike calls a wide toe box.

Spikes

• Saucony Kilkenny XC: one width, which Saucony describes as an accommodating fit on a wider base.
• Nike Zoom Rival (XC, Distance, Sprint and Multi): one width. Nike says they run small and suggests half a size up.
• New Balance XC Seven: one standard width.

For every shoe on this page, lift the insole in the store. If it comes out and the orthotic sits flat with his heel still inside the counter, you are in business. If it is glued, bring the shoe to our office, and we will design the orthotic around it.

What to Check Every Season

• Measure both feet standing, at the end of the day, in running socks. Fit the longer foot.
• Put his orthotic in the new trainer at the store, with the factory insole out. If his heel lifts, try another shoe.
• Keep track of how long he has run in each pair. A trainer that feels flat, or has a sole worn through to the foam, is done.
• Ask about pain on the top of the foot, in the shin or in the heel. Boys tend to run through all three.
• Ask how much he ran over the summer, and whether he got hurt doing it.
• Keep spikes for races and a few hard sessions, not for training miles.

When to See a Podiatrist

Bring him in, and stop his running, for pain on the top of the foot or in the shin that gets worse during runs. A single spot that hurts to press is a warning sign too. Come in for heel pain that lasts more than a couple of weeks. A limp or night pain needs an examination too. Come in after a sprain that is still swollen after a week. If he already wears orthotics and has grown a size, bring the orthotics and his trainers. Our pediatric foot care page explains how we see young athletes. Our custom orthotics page explains how we make devices.

More reading: when to replace worn-out shoes and foot care for runners and athletes.