Abbie Jack is no stranger to long distance racing.
During the Toronto Marathon on May 5 — her second full marathon — she stuck to her usual routine: She tied her hair in a standard ponytail. However, when the Toronto, Ontario native hit the pavement, the rain started pouring down.
It rained intermittently during the entire 42 kilometers. Only after 30 kilometers did Jack notice that the rain had ruined her hair.
“My hair got REALLY heavy. It was like I had a rug attached to my head,” Jack, 27, tells PEOPLE exclusively.
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Abbie Jack took a photo of her hair after running a marathon.
Abbie Jack
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With a goal of finishing the marathon in under three hours and 30 minutes to qualify for the Boston Marathon, Jack didn’t want to stop or slow down to fix her hair. It wasn’t until after the race that she realized how bad her hair was.
Looking at her hair for the first time after the race, she recalls thinking, “This is going to be hard to pull off, but I didn’t expect it to be that heavy.”
“I have super thin hair so it gets clogged easily,” she adds. “I’ve run in the rain before and my hair got really clogged before, but looking back it was nothing compared to this! I can usually get it out with lots of conditioner.”
At home, Jack removed her hair tie as usual, only to find that her hair was completely standing. Despite showering and using conditioner, her hair remained tangled.
“I broke the brush and soon realized that this was a bigger problem than expected,” she says. “Then I got out of the shower and added a thick leave-in conditioner.”
After spending hours with her fiance trying to detangle her hair, Jack turned to social media for help. Her TikTok video documenting the ordeal went viral overnight, garnering more than 3.6 million views. Viewers poured in suggestions, but nothing seemed to work.
“I’ve also tried mayonnaise, as recommended on TikTok, olive oil and other treatments for deep hair,” she says. “Nothing worked. I broke a few combs.”
“I spent at least 12 hours working on my hair, and my hands are so tired,” she continues.
After Jack posted the next video, the hairdresser offered to help. Jack spent three hours with her and by 10 pm her hair was about 80% combed. However, she lost a lot of hair in the process.
Despite his hair woes, Jack, whose wedding date is set for June, remains positive. She is grateful for the support and plans to go to the salon again for further treatment.
“Don’t be discouraged from running just because it does crazy things to your hair! Running is amazing! Maybe wear a bun if you have hair texture like mine!” she advises. – Running changed my life.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education