To register Athena or to not register Athena?

You compete with other Athena's and get ranked in that division.  If you do not want to compete in that division then enter as an ag'er.  Also, consider if you will go under the weight limit coming up withing that year, as you'll have to change divisions.  I raced as a Clyde last year, and while I'm still over 200 lbs now, I'm thinking I'll be under it soon, so I'll probably be entering as an ag'er this coming year instead.

I occasionally race as an athena, but still find myself seeing where I would have placed if I raced in my age group. I'm not going to lie to you, it was because the races were smaller and I knew as an athena I had a shot of being on the podium. Yep, so what if at this age I still get a kick out of getting a trophy! I'll tell you what, it pushed me harder in training to know I had a shot. I do, after all, compete in the traditionally fastest women's AG 35-39. And isn't it all about finding that motivating factor that will push you hard enough to cross the finish line with a smile on your face?

If it were me, I'd flip a coin.  I wouldn't see the podium in either group, so it doesn't matter.  I still get a time and I can compare it with others, after the race.

I do sprints because they're fun and because I can, plus I found a few good friends doing them. 

You can check last year's race results by searching on line and see how your AG vs. Athena results compare.

If you do it for fun does it really matter? Athena in NE tends to be odd sometimes lots of women but mostly not as I think many women don't want to admit they weigh over 150 or something along those lines. A race will have 50 Clydes and 8 Athenas..makes no sense to me.

I often race Athena as I sometimes can place in the top 3 but am racing against women up to 30 years younger than me at times. Turns out this year I won hardware in all my races other than my Ironman due to being in the Athena category.  What I really care about is my time and how I executed my race.

I'm usually right on the cusp of Athena weight. In larger races, if I can tell that one or the other division has an earlier wave start, then that's the division I register in (I prefer to get out on the course earlier rather than later if at all possible....). In smaller races I mostly register AG, but sometimes I'll register as an Athena (especially if I think I might have a shot at the podium).

Thanks for the replies. I went ahead and registered in the Athena division, since I can change it even on race day (according to RD), and it looks to be a pretty small race. Last year there was 1 Athena, same the year before and their times are pretty comparable to what I'm shooting for. So yeah, decision made!