Clydesdale Gripe... (Page 2)

Hey ya'll... I am one of those guys you are griping about. 6'5", 202... But I stand by my entry as a Clydesdale because it truly is a different race for a big fit dude and a little fit dude. Especially as the race gets longer and it is tougher for a guy like me to keep up with his hydration needs. Therefore, I believe that the Clydesdale division is for big dudes who are very fit. In point of fact, every race that I go to, the winners in the Clydesdale division look just like me. Big dudes, usually tall, who are very fit.

So there.

Isn't there someone to complain about this whole mess to?

Complain? Kona doesn't have a clyde division... so in seems to me anyone who does a clyde division is doing it as a courtesy/nice to have, etc. anyway.

I love it! My husband experienced a similar reaction at my last tri. When they handed out the awards and got to the Clydesdales, I explained that one had to weigh 200 lbs. of more to race. He perked up. "Really? I might try one." (Currently, he's 5'10' and about 196.) But then he saw the three winners--all looking like that Baywatch dude. He hasn't said another word about ir. Shame... I would like for him to "try a tri." His response echoed what an earlier poster wrote: it's about the spirit of the law rather than the letter. My husband felt the weight divisions were about encouraging less fit people to participate in order to *get* fit. I have to feel that carrying around 20 pounds of extra fat on a 5'9" frame is a bit different than being 6'5" and carrying most of that weight in muscle and bone--all of which aids one in all disciplines (tho' least in running). Last year I weighed 148 lbs--just 2 lbs. shy of the Athena category. I admit there were times when I thought, "If I just gained two pounds I could race in that category." But a couple of things stopped me. First: a lot of the Athenas weren't fat; they were just big--tall, big-boned. Second, it hurts to run with more weight rather than less. So this winter I dropped 15 lbs. so I am no longer tempted to 'cat up.' Have I won anything at the lower weight? Nope! But I do feel better.

Seriously, unless they had a Body Fat monitor and mased it on BMI, this is not a "problem" for which I see a solution.