Styles may change, but the confidence that a unique haircut can bring is unquestionable. Here is a list of just some of the great haircuts from the world of running …
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Craig Engels
Engels’ performance in the US Track & Field Outdoor Championships in late July can safely be described as attention-grabbing. He won the 1500m, beating Olympic champion Matt Centrowitz and did so with a magnificent mullet and moustache combo.
Dave Bedford
Bedford’s shock of wild jet-black locks and moustache a Mexican bandit would be proud of were a regular sight in the early 70s. With just a hint of menace that complemented the distance runner’s reputation for being quite hard, the hairstyle’s iconic status was confirmed when it was said to have inspired 118 118 advert.
Steve Prefontaine
The American middle-distance star never won an Olympic or World Championship medal, ‘Pre’ had a cult-like appeal that left a lasting legacy. With his lustrous blond mane, which would bounce hypnotically when in full flow, louche sideburns and ‘tache, he looked like a West Coast rock star, with the attitude to match.
Grete Waitz
It’s possible the double ponytail isn’t the most efficient hairstyle for marathon running but the style the Norwegian sported for her winning debut at the New York City Marathon in 1978 helped establish her as a running legend. The image of Waitz ‘with her pigtails slicing back and forth like metronomic windshield wipers’ (as The New York Times memorably put it) is iconic.
Alberto Juantorena
The Cuban had a nine-foot stride length and was nicknamed ‘El Caballo’ (The Horse). He had a mane to match – a majestic afro attached to long, bushy sideburns. His strong look was matched by strong performances – he won 400m and 800m golds at the 1976 Olympics, prompting commentator Ron Pickering to famously exclaim: ‘And there goes Juantorena down the back straight, opening his legs and showing his class!’
Joan Benoit
It’s unlikely Benoit saw herself as a pioneer – she was much too humble for that – but on a blazing hot Los Angeles day in August 1984, the 27-year-old marathoner from Maine ran into the history books as the winner of the first women’s Olympic Marathon. Her classic short bob, revealed as she took off her cap approaching the finish line, was simple, strong and confident, just like the runner herself.
Kelly Holmes
Arriving in Greece fully fit and brimming with belief after a perfect build-up, Holmes was ready, apart from her hair. Unable to find a hairdresser at the UK team’s holding camp in Cyprus, it was by chance she bumped into a holidaying hairstylist from Wembley as she was skimming stones on the beach. With braids on point, she famously went on to do the 800m and 1500m double.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
When you sport a hairstyle noticeable as this one, it helps to have the talent to get it seen at the right end of a race – and Fraser Pryce has that in abundance. The sprinter’s patriotic nod to the Jamaican national colours, combining a sunflower hairband with green braids, featured twice at the top of the podium at the 2015 World Athletics Championships in Beijing, after Fraser Pryce triumphed in the 100m and 4x100m relay.
Rob Krar
The US ultrarunner’s relatively neat upper hair is anchored by a mighty #ultrabeard that channels Grizzly Adams and acts as a visual metaphor for the freedom and untamed spirit of the wilderness. Plus, any hair feature that has inspired its own Twitter account simply has to make this list. (Check out @robkrarsbeard on Twitter – bio: ‘Wickin’ sweat, keepin’ Rob warm’.)
Mo Farah
Well, there was just ‘Mo’ way we could leave this one out… For our anniversary issue back in September 2018, Mo recreated this ’90s look and it’s too good not to include.
