What are the benefits and minuses? I’m doing my first triathlon (Olympic length) and have the option to enter as either and there’s no chance I will be under the weight cut off.
Only thing that comes to mind is I do not think Clydesdale group are USAT ranked. There is no USAT nationals clydesdale category to qualify for. AG has more competition.
But if getting an award is more important, just go out and have fun.
.
I personally think the Clyde and Athena categories are a bunch of crap. I don’t mean that to poke fun at “heavier” people but it’s a mechanism by which to dole out awards to even more people.
I would think the same if they had categories for people with red hair or men with feet over size 12 or whatever other arbitrary silo to put people in. The AGs are arbitrary enough.
If I was bigger, id find those categories insulting. Its not like you are disabled. Yes you may have a disadvantage, but no reason you cant compete fairly and take more pride in racing age group fairly.
Should we have categories for short people, poor swimmers, diabetics, former or current smokers etc.
Heck we already seperste elites and usually pull overall winners out of the AG awards.
I started around 250lbs and I’m 6’2" Not the biggest guy around doing these but was definitely up there. I do have 3 clyde podiums. My first race was an oly and I finished and went home only later to find out I had take 3rd. I had no idea that I even could hang with the top guys in clyde. I now weigh in under 200lbs and of course race AG and love it. I am a MOP guy in AG but love to see my awards from when I was heavier and had to push so hard to get them. Lots of folks will say that it’s crap and to each his own but there is no shame. Triathlon is something I do for me, no one else. I’ll never be a AG winner, and that’s fine but it’s pretty awesome to look at the trophies I did grab. Even though I am an MOP age grouper it motivates me to see the trophies. If there is an award and you can do it why not go for it? You will have lots of folks, maybe some close friends telling you “they don’t count”. You decide if you care what someone else thinks and go do what you want.
Only thing that comes to mind is I do not think Clydesdale group are USAT ranked. There is no USAT nationals clydesdale category to qualify for. AG has more competition.
But if getting an award is more important, just go out and have fun.
It looks like that is changing…
http://www.usatriathlon.org/news/articles/2014/5/052114-clydesdale-athena-nationals.aspx
Yea, I had heard about this before. But it is not the main AG nationals which you have to qualify for and is the only race to qualify for TeamUSA spots.
Looks like the only requirement to race this new nationals is you must be heavier than the minimum weight standard?
.
True but it’s something to aim for. In reality Clydesdale is just another “AG”
I agree but aim for? Just another race a person can sign up for. This is why races you have to qualify for are more attractive. Took me a couple of tries before I got my BQ.
USAT AG nationals is too easy.
.
So the only advantage is the fact I would be eligible for an award? Nothing about speed of the pack etc.just awards?
All I am aware of is you are in a group for awards for that race, but lose everything else that you could chase after.
.
Clyde racing is great fun. I was lucky that my local series always had 4 or 5 of us that on any given day would win. I was usually time wise top 10 or so in my AG if I looked. What was great is we always went off second wave right after elite so the roads were empty for our stampede. IF looking for fun, Clyde.
I personally think the Clyde and Athena categories are a bunch of crap. I don’t mean that to poke fun at “heavier” people but it’s a mechanism by which to dole out awards to even more people.
I would think the same if they had categories for people with red hair or men with feet over size 12 or whatever other arbitrary silo to put people in. The AGs are arbitrary enough.
This is true.
I “race” Athena and since they increased the weight categories, I’ve been winning my category. The sad thing is that I’m probably not the thinnest Athena out there. I am short and stocky (the real* athletes race AG and are awesome). Do I find this fairly hilarious? Absolutely, since I have like no athletic ability. Am I going to race age group? Hell no, I like having the little placques and trophies. It’s a guilty pleasure. I’ve always been a sucker for plaques and trophies. See - my law degree (waste of money), my 1st place district wide science fair win in the second grade (yes!), my 1st place in history for my high school, etc etc.
Now do I think “wow, I won, I must be some crazy triathlon goddess and magnificent ability! Please bow down to me?” Absolutely not. Like I said, it’s funny. If they got rid of the category, I wouldn’t care. Since it’s there though, I’m taking home my little trophy!
Perfect attitude and keep winning those trophies!
.
Have you ever raced in your age group? If so was there any significant/material difference.
Have you ever raced in your age group? If so was there any significant/material difference.
Yes and I’m MOP usually. Sometimes I’m BOP. The thing is that Athena groups are usually very small because women are reluctant to advertise being fat or whatever. So you have a small group and so it boils down to a contest of who shows up. I think this is true for a lot of the women’s AGs though since there are simply not as many women who participate in triathlon as men. So I’ve seen races where AG 25 to 30 there are 5 women. Let’s face it, as long as you don’t die*, you have a super chance of getting on the podium. Same is for Athena. This is why the whole thing is funny.
Now for men, it is way more competitive, to where, I believe, if you are winning in Clydesdale and you’re 40, you have a decent chance of being in the top in 40-45 age group. At least this is what I’ve seen at the local triathlons here in Houston. YMMV.
*No offense to people who die in these races.
My wife solved this for me in a practical way. . . .She’d rather have me in the AG waves since I will be bigger than most of them and if one swims over me or hits me they will lose that battle as opposed to a bigger Clydesdale. . . . If I keep doing races I may try a Clydesdale in the future to get a medal, but right now I am just doing this for fun and to prove something to myself.
Would you rather compete against people of similar sizes or similar ages? Join whatever wave that keeps you the most motivated and coming back for more.
At this point I want to maximize my chances of finishing the race. I’m not really competing with anyone but myself at this point.
At this point I want to maximize my chances of finishing the race. I’m not really competing with anyone but myself at this point.
Then look and see where the waves start (if that info isn’t available- look at last year’s race info, this year’s should be similar). Then ask yourself if you would rather swim earlier or later. There’s pros and cons to each (EX: starting sooner means that you’ll probably get passed by lots of people while starting later means that you’ll finish the race closer to the back of the pack/ race).
Whatever you decide, don’t sweat the mistakes/ issues that are bound to show up and remember to have fun.