Fitting Debate: Is Long Hair or Short Hair Better...for Running?

Two years ago, I posted briefly about the fitting debate of short vs. long hair with regards to fashion. I received comments then that I should keep my hair long. One comment I remember someone sharing was, "longer hair makes you look younger, shorter hair makes you look older."

At that point, I decided to keep the hair long.  

Yesterday, I went in for a haircut armed with a few pictures from Pinterest, and I told my stylist Nikol to “Chop it off!”

Keep reading folks…no sneak peeks!

The last time I had short hair was the summer of 2007- seven years ago!  I chopped it off in the summer, and then a month later, Dustin proposed to me. 

Here's a pic from the night we got engaged!

Like many brides-to-be, I wanted long hair again for my wedding. The short style lasted less than a hot minute.  I spent the next nine months of wedding planning trying desperately to grow my hair out again as quickly as possible.

By the way- there are no tricks to make your hair grow faster. Those vitamins that are supposed to work miracles? Nope. Didn’t do much for me….

By the time my wedding rolled around, my hair had barely made its way to my shoulders. I ended up using extensions (<--Sunny's on Lyndale is where its at!) on the big day to get the voluminous bun that I was looking for, and it worked out just fine..(Well, until that wedding night when Dustin had to help me take out all the fake hair!)

After that, I just kept growing my hair long, alternating between bangs and no bangs, but no other drastic changes in style.  BORING.

 

BANGS and NO BANGS...

It was time for a change....

Before:

After!

Though this new look is nothing funky or unique, it’s a change, and that’s what I wanted.

And curly...

Side note...I had close to 7 inches cut off and Kol put it in a pony tail for me to donate. Apparently, you need ten inches to donate to Locks of Love so that was out, though I wasn't sure about that organization anyways after reading this article.  It seems like both Wigs For Kids and Beautiful Lengths have good reputations, but I would need twelve and eight inches respectively...Ah! I really should have waited for one more inch! So what should I do with my hair?? 

Now, you’re probably thinking, what does a short vs. long hair debate have to do with a fitness/running blog? Probably not much...I’m stretching it on this one, trying to make it work.

Here goes...Which is better for working out/running- short or long hair?

Long Hair Pros/Cons:

The good...

• Easy to pull back into a pony tail for runs
• Traditionally more “feminine” on what may be an otherwise athletic looking body of a runner (i.e….me and my man arms!)
• Flexibility to vary how you wear it for running- french braid, ponytail, side braids…

The bad...

• Can easily get tangled into a gnarly mess on hot runs
• Takes a long time to blow-dry when you’re crunched for time after a morning workout (For tips on getting ready quickly, check out THIS POST!)
• Frozen braids impossible to untangle after winter runs
• Sweat spraying off your hair onto your fellow runners (most likely will still be an issue for me with short hair…what can I say, I'm a sweater.)

SWEATY PONYTAIL!!!

Short Hair Pros/Cons:

The good....

• Faster blow-dry post-run
• Simple styling post-run
• Less hair- less weight- run faster!! Right? Right…?

The bad...

• Can’t just pull it back into a ponytail when wet
• Can’t pull it back into a ponytail for running. 

...I think hats will help for running. And headbands.  I have a feeling clips and bobby pins will be my new best friends. and fortunately I already have a solid collection of BIC bands.

What do YOU think? What is the “better” style for running- long or short?

Do you have any tips or tricks of the trade to help me with the shorter ‘do?