athena vs. age group

[divingbiker]

Just wondering if there's an advantage to registering in the Athena category vs. in my age group (45-49) in the women-only triathlon I'm doing next month. There are probably 4 times as many registered in the Athena category as in the age group, so that means there are 4 times as many who could finish ahead of me.

Since I'm hoping only to finish, not win, I don't think it really matters, but my guess is the women registered in the 45-49 group are the skinny, competitive ones, and the slow, fat triathletes register as Athena. Also, I'll only be 5 weeks away from 50 at the time of the race so psychologically it might be better if I don't feel I'm "competing" with 45 year olds!

I guess the question is, do those who qualify as Athena (not a club I'm terribly happy to be a member of) register that way, or do they stick with their age group?

[Nanci]

Age group. Also, there are some VERY fast Athenas. I would say a LOT. Don't count on them being non-competitive.

Nanci

[divingbiker]

Thanks. That's what I suspected. I'll go change my registration right now.

[Nanci]

Well, I'm not the authority on it, though- so you might want to wait for more opinions. But I always pick age group, because there are less people, and then observe the Athena class to see if I guessed right. Also, you can look at the results from the previous year- often the same people will race again. You can compare the fast Athenas to the fast age-groupers, and then pick.

Nanci

[Pedal Wench]

In road race (no clue about tri's ) your race age is the age you'll be on December 31. So, actually, you could register in the 50-59 category. But check the rules.

[Lise]

Hi, divingbiker (henceforth db), and welcome to the Tri board!

I agree with Nanci. Stick with your age group. The reason to do Athena, IMO, is if you're fast and meet the weight criteria. If you plan to compete in that bracket, then go for it. If you have no intention of going for a medal, stick with your age group. It's kind of 6 of one, etc, for me, but it's depressing to class myself "Athena" just cuz I weigh 150#. I'd rather stick with being 46.