I personally braid my hair in two pigtail french braids, but this year will be doing a ponytail braid. I just got a helmet that allows ponytails so I will be doing that since its easier to stuff it under a swim cap than french braids. Either are great choices though.

I've had longer hair and shoulder length--I do a ponytail under my swim cap, and under my helmet and for the run I normally just do a low pony tail/bun thingy (when hair was longer) and I either wear a bandana covering my head to keep flyways away from my face, or for the last one I bought a super wide headband that says biker chick and wore that =-)

Nobody expects you to look pretty--just figure out what works best for you to keep your hair out of your way =-).

Buzz cut?

I have medium length hair and can't stand wispies blowing around when I exercise. I put my hair in a low ponytail or single braid that will work with my helmet. I also wear a thin skull cap (DeSoto Skin Cooler) under my helmet. This keeps the wispies out of my face as well as keeping my head cool. I wear a cap with a brim and a terry band inside when I run. This keeps the hair under control and soaks up the sweat. Also, if it is really hot you can pour water on your cap to cool you without it running in your eyes.

Good luck with your race!

Long suffering friend has said she'll put it in 2 french braids for me on the friday (tri on the sunday) so hopefully it'll stay put!

Did it work out?

My SweatVac visor hides most of the frizziness, but I just throw it back in a ponytail. I braided my hair for the first one, but haven’t cared much since. I have accepted the fact that I will never have a "pretty" race picture. Also, I don't recommend 2 braids...nothing hurts worse than a sun burned head!

I don't know what these "wispies" are...my hair is wet from the swim and by the time it would dry, it's drenched in sweat, so it is plastered somewhere. I have really long, straight, thick hair. I have always done a low ponytail, but by the time I get to the run, my ponytail seems to split in half and wrap around my neck. I also can't really braid my own hair, but if it's already in a ponytail, I can. So this season I'll put it in a low ponytail then braid it.

I have really curly frizzy hair also, but It's not as much of a problem as you'd think. I leave it in a low bun under my swim cap and after pulling off my cap put on my helmet for the bike no problem. I can't stand it low when I run so I grab a headband in T2 and usually readjust it higher as I jog out of transition. Because you're wet, then sweating a lot, and I have a tendancy to pour a little water on my head at stations, it stays wet and not frizzy. My hair curls so much that it curls around my face even when wet, hence the headband, but I can't run in hats, I get way too hot.

Hope the braids worked for you! My hair gets frizzy in braids and gets pulled by my swim cap, plus I've never been able to braid my own well.