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purple hayes
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 Posted: 08/09/04 - 14:08 Post subject: Athena, Clydesdale and Novice divisions--why?
Why would you want to race as an Athena, Clydesdale or novice? Why would you want to race in that class/category?
Last edited by purple hayes on 08/09/04 - 14:13; edited 1 time in total
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MechEngDropout
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Posted: 08/09/04 - 14:12 Post subject:
Better odds of placing, or winning even. Sometimes there is a monitary reward. I imagine if I was a large guy weighing in at 240 or something like that, I'd much rather race in that division than have to compete with 5'10" 140 lb track stars.
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cherylpf
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Posted: 08/09/04 - 14:24 Post subject:
With guys I can kind of see it, there are guys out there who will always be in that upper weight category, they are tall/huge, etc. However, the Athena part I don't understand. Don't you have to weigh in at race time? I can't imagine there are a lot of women out there who are proud to say "I weigh (qualifying weight) or higher and out of those of us willing to admit that, I won 2nd...."  I know women who would rather give you their bank account number than the number on the scale.
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sonnylax
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Posted: 08/09/04 - 14:28 Post subject:
Sure. (I'm not to far away from Clydesdale country myself these days.)
I think it's an effort to attract the weekend warriors to road races. Folks who will never be as small, athletic, and/or fast as the track/CC folks that weight 150lbs soaking wet.
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elkid
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Posted: 08/09/04 - 14:37 Post subject:
Better odds of placing, or winning even. Sometimes there is a monetary reward. For kicks. Same reasons why there are 5 year age brackets v. 9 year ones. I normally run in very large races, and as such I'd much rather race in that division than have to compete with the women in my age group (the largest female age group in Philly and NYC) who average 100 lbs. A more even playing field, so to speak.
You'd be surprised how fast and how small Athenas and Clydesdales are, especially the guys. These are not all weekend warrior athletes, but many who are tall and built bigger - men AND women. Many who seriously train for events, and at a higher level than "normal sized" athletes. I ran a 5K last fall where the top Athena won a boatload of cash for finishing in 17 and change. At my tri yesterday you would have had great difficulty choosing the 3 Clydesdale winners from the rest of the crowd. Those brothers were taut.
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BamBam
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Posted: 08/09/04 - 14:38 Post subject:
I guess Hardware is really important to some people. 
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MastrBrewr
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Posted: 08/09/04 - 14:39 Post subject:
I did the Novice division in my first tri and will do that division again in October. After that, I'll be age-grouping.
For tris, I think the Novice category is a good idea, mainly because of the swim start: we all went last.
But I can't think of a reason for having a Novice category for road races.
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Pug
The Movie Geek
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Posted: 08/09/04 - 14:40 Post subject: Re: Athena, Clydesdale and Novice divisions--why?
| purple hayes wrote: | | Why would you want to race as an Athena, Clydesdale or novice? Why would you want to race in that class/category? |
I've never even heard of these categories.
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genie
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Posted: 08/09/04 - 15:25 Post subject:
| cherylpf wrote: | | With guys I can kind of see it, there are guys out there who will always be in that upper weight category, they are tall/huge, etc. However, the Athena part I don't understand. Don't you have to weigh in at race time? I can't imagine there are a lot of women out there who are proud to say "I weigh (qualifying weight) or higher and out of those of us willing to admit that, I won 2nd...." I know women who would rather give you their bank account number than the number on the scale. |
Yeah, but the Athena category is, to me (being one, I might add) more far reaching than the men's.....I think the cutoff is like 140 or 150? That is not "big" unless you're like 4'11".  A taller woman like my friend Jenny who is 5'10" can weigh 150 and still wear a size 8, but she's also not gonna beat some little tiny 90lb woman either, which was, I believe, the reason for developing that "weight class" in the first place. I always felt it was easier for an Athena to place than a Clyde.
On the other hand, 200 + for men is likely not a small dude, (and I'm not saying fat, just not small like the elite crowd) and like someone else said, some of the Clydes I've seen are damn fast and more muscular than anything.....and on the taller side too. I've only entered a couple smaller local races with Clyde divisions and none of them made you weigh in, although I've seen marathons advertised where they do when you pick up your chip, I think.
My only piece of hardware that is not a finisher's medal was from an Athena division placing too. Size matters, despite what people tell you 
Last edited by genie on 08/09/04 - 15:30; edited 1 time in total
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sonnylax
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Posted: 08/09/04 - 15:27 Post subject:
The few races I've seen with these divisions have had:
Clydesdales: 200 lbs +
Athenas: 160lbs +
(Honor System only.)
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elkid
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Posted: 08/09/04 - 15:45 Post subject:
Not many races here offer these classifications, but of the ones I've done, Athena = 140+, Clydesdale 175+. Any woman with a decent sized chest over 5'5" and any guy with a broad back over 5'10" pretty much automatically qualifies. I've seen women who are under 5' tall who look like they're 80 lbs - I can't compete with that even though I'm a size 8. I've also seen anorexic dudes who are nearly 6 feet tall who weigh in close to 150 lbs - tall buff dudes can't compete with that even though they have a 35" waist. The disparency is even more apparent when viewing triathletes.
I've never heard of a novice classification, though.
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MechEngDropout
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Posted: 08/09/04 - 15:51 Post subject:
| elkid wrote: | | I've also seen anorexic dudes who are nearly 6 feet tall who weigh in close to 150 lbs |
I imagine there aren't too many anorexic runners. If you saw these 6', 150lb men, did you ask them if they were anorexic?
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purple hayes
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Posted: 08/09/04 - 15:55 Post subject:
| MechEngDropout wrote: | | I imagine there aren't too many anorexic runners. If you saw these 6', 150lb men, did you ask them if they were anorexic? |
 I'm 6'-0" and weigh in just a little over 150 lbs. right now. I'm definitely not anorexic.
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copteacher
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Posted: 08/09/04 - 19:43 Post subject:
I just like open. I guess it allows more people to "fit" somewhere. I have seen this a lot of tris
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Floridaboiler
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Posted: 08/09/04 - 21:02 Post subject:
I had never heard of the Athena division and I agree that I am surprised that women would agree to weigh themselves unless it is on the honor system.
For the clydesdales, of which I am close to qualifying I can see why some guys would want it. Here the one race that does it is use 200 pounds as the cut off. It can be tough dragging 200 pounds of weight through a 5K. We joke around that they need to make all those skinny guys wear 30 - 50 pound weighted vests so they can level the playing field. I don't look for races that offer it. I just realize that I will need to train harder and just realize that there are guys out there faster than me.
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