Runners from Spain with headwear covered in spots (8)
I believe the answer is:
escapees
'runners' is the definition.
(people who have escaped or run away)
'spain with headwear covered in spots' is the wordplay.
'spain' becomes 'e' (abbreviation for Espana).
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'headwear' becomes 'cap' (cap is a type of hat).
'covered in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'spots' becomes 'sees' (I've seen this in another clue).
'cap' going into 'sees' is 'scapees'.
'e'+'scapees'='ESCAPEES'
'from' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for escapees that I've seen before include "They got away" , "They've run away from confinement" , "Gaol-breakers" , "Those getting free (E, not R)" , "They get away from confinement" .)