First Triathlon - Which Group Should I Go With?

In article <qLjEc.7263$mN3.6079@lakeread06>,

Chris and Steph said:

Maybe a silly question but I am running my first triathlon
in September and was wondering what would be better for a
beginner. Go with my age group (25-29) or go with the Open
group. Right now I'm over 200 lbs and they have that
division this year but I figure I will be well under 200
by the time the race kicks off.

Um, I'm not sure what you mean by "open," but if this is
where the elite athletes are competing, then do age group.

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night, and party every day. Th-
en it was every other day. . . ."
- Homer J. Simpson

You should not be concerned with competing in the "Open"
unless you have developed exceptional skills.

Go in you age group.

ken

"Chris and Steph" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:qLjEc.7263$mN3.6079@lakeread06...

Quoted message said:

Maybe a silly question but I am running my first triathlon
in September

and

Quoted message said:

was wondering what would be better for a beginner. Go with
my age group (25-29) or go with the Open group. Right now
I'm over 200 lbs and they

have

Quoted message said:

that division this year but I figure I will be well under
200 by the time the race kicks off.

Thanks for your opinions.

Chris

Chris and Steph said:

Maybe a silly question but I am running my first triathlon
in September and was wondering what would be better for a
beginner. Go with my age group (25-29) or go with the Open
group. Right now I'm over 200 lbs and they have that
division this year but I figure I will be well under 200
by the time the race kicks off.

Thanks for your opinions.

Chris

If you are worried about how slow you are, do what I did if
you can. Wait until the start order has been posted and pick
the category that gives you the most time. For my first
couple of tri's I jumped from first-timer to age group and
back again depending on which group was leavign first. That
way I avoided a) beign last on the field, and b) not having
to worry about the course closing before I finished.

DaveB

"Chris and Steph" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:qLjEc.7263$mN3.6079@lakeread06...

Quoted message said:

Maybe a silly question but I am running my first
triathlon in

September and

Quoted message said:

was wondering what would be better for a beginner. Go
with my age

group

Quoted message said:

(25-29) or go with the Open group. Right now I'm over
200 lbs and

they have

Quoted message said:

that division this year but I figure I will be well
under 200 by

the time

Quoted message said:

the race kicks off.

You should go with the age group, and you should ensure you
start in the correct wave otherwise your swim time, and
consequently your overall time will be totally wrong.

[email hidden]

In article <[email hidden]>,

JH said:

You should go with the age group, and you should ensure
you start in the correct wave otherwise your swim time,
and consequently your overall time will be totally wrong.

If you feel like you need the extra time to finish, you can
talk to the RD and see if they'll allow you to go in a
different wave and adjust your time accordingly.

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night, and party every day. Th-
en it was every other day. . . ."
- Homer J. Simpson

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Chris And Steph
Maybe a silly question but I am running my first triathlon
in September and was wondering what would be better for a
beginner. Go with my age group (25-29) or go with the Open
group. Right now I'm over 200 lbs and they have that
division this year but I figure I will be well under 200 by
the time the race kicks off.

Thanks for your opinions.

Chris

If they have a Clydesdale (guys) or Athena (gals) go there. I'm 295 and finished my first Tri a couple of weeks ago and if I would have been in age group I would have been last in the pack. If there isn't, age group is the way to go for now.

http://www.usa-clydesdale.com

In article <[email hidden]>,

pcs_ronbo said:

Chris And Steph said:

Maybe a silly question but I am running my first
triathlon in September and was wondering what would be
better for a beginner. Go with my age group (25-29) or
go with the Open group. Right now I'm over 200 lbs and
they have that division this year but I figure I will
be well under 200 by the time the race kicks off.
Thanks for your opinions. Chris

If they have a Clydesdale (guys) or Athena (gals) go
there. I'm 295 and finished my first Tri a couple of weeks
ago and if I would have been in age group I would have
been last in the pack. If there isn't, age group is the
way to go for now.

He's supposed to race Clydesdale even if he'll be "well
under 200 by the time the race kicks off"? That sounds
like cheating.

Not that I think Clydesdale makes any sense in the first
place, but it is nice that in my new area (Indianapolis)
they do weigh-ins at packet pickup for the clydesdales and
anthenas. In the races I did in Minnesota it seemed to be on
the honor system.

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night, and party every day. Th-
en it was every other day. . . ."
- Homer J. Simpson

Would be nice to run in Clydesdale at 201 or so but that
isn't going to happen. Eleven weeks till race time will see
to that. Thanks to everyone for their input.

Chris

"Harold Buck" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:no_one_knows-
[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

pcs_ronbo said:

Chris And Steph said:

Maybe a silly question but I am running my first
triathlon in

September

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

and was wondering what would be better for a
beginner. Go with my

age

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

group (25-29) or go with the Open group. Right now
I'm over 200 lbs

and

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

they have that division this year but I figure I
will be well under

200

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

by the time the race kicks off. Thanks for your
opinions. Chris

If they have a Clydesdale (guys) or Athena (gals) go
there. I'm 295 and finished my first Tri a couple of
weeks ago and if I would have been in age group I would
have been last in the pack. If there isn't, age group is
the way to go for now.

He's supposed to race Clydesdale even if he'll be "well
under 200 by the time the race kicks off"? That sounds
like cheating.

Not that I think Clydesdale makes any sense in the first
place, but it is nice that in my new area (Indianapolis)
they do weigh-ins at packet pickup for the clydesdales and
anthenas. In the races I did in Minnesota it seemed to be
on the honor system.

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night, and party every day.
Then it was every other day. . . ."
- Homer J. Simpson

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Harold Buck
In article <[email hidden]>,

He's supposed to race Clydesdale even if he'll be "well
under 200 by the time the race kicks off"? That sounds
like cheating.

Not that I think Clydesdale makes any sense in the first
place, but it is nice that in my new area (Indianapolis)
they do weigh-ins at packet pickup for the clydesdales and
anthenas. In the races I did in Minnesota it seemed to be on
the honor system.

--Harold Buck

Sorry, Late night post 😄 didn't read it.

BTW - Clydesdale makes a ton of sense if you want to compete against reasonable similar people. If I'm 290 (not 295 anymore), what's the point of me "competing" against someone who is 140? I generate 300% of the power to propel my fat butt through the course thank Mr. Skinny. It's not really a relevant comparison nor a relevant "competition". I'd rather try to beat others who are big. Heck, if all the Triatheletes I've met weren't so darn nice I'd get a shirt made which says "You pickup 150lbs and try to beat me!" hehe...

Also, the last Tri I ran they put us in the middle wave, after most of the men and before all of the women and everyone in my wave finished well before the end of the race, but yet didn't get into too many people's way. So, from a safety perspective, it made sense.

In article <[email hidden]>,

pcs_ronbo said:

BTW - Clydesdale makes a ton of sense if you want to
compete against reasonable similar people. If I'm 290 (not
295 anymore), what's the point of me "competing" against
someone who is 140? I generate 300% of the power to propel
my fat butt through the course thank Mr. Skinny. It's not
really a relevant comparison nor a relevant "competition".
I'd rather try to beat others who are big. Heck, if all
the Triatheletes I've met weren't so darn nice I'd get a
shirt made which says "You pickup 150lbs and try to beat
me!" hehe...

Well, if you're going to do that, why don't we have a
division for people who have kids and have a difficult time
getting in as much training as they'd like? How about a
division for people who didn't learn to swim until they were
over 30? One for people nursing injuries? One for people who
can't afford tricked-out bikes? One for smokers?

I just don't think it makes sense to have a special division
for people who are heavier. Do they have a 100m final in the
Olympics for people over 250?

Sports are ALL ABOUT the accumulation of advantages and
about who's body type, strengths and skills are best suited
to the event. I don't think people who are heavy should get
any special consideration. I'm not over 200, but I have some
of my own limitations. I compete against myself. Why isn't
that good enough for Clydesdales? I mean, there's even more
of yourself to compete against!

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night, and party every day. Th-
en it was every other day. . . ."
- Homer J. Simpson

Harold Buck <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

<Major SNIP by rsquared>

Quoted message said:

Sports are ALL ABOUT the accumulation of advantages and
about who's body type, strengths and skills are best
suited to the event. I don't think people who are heavy
should get any special consideration. I'm not over 200,
but I have some of my own limitations. I compete against
myself. Why isn't that good enough for Clydesdales? I
mean, there's even more of yourself to compete against!

--Harold Buck

True. But what "special consideration"? They are required to
complete the same course on the same day.

If Clydes want to subdivide the imaginary big pond into an
imaginary small one, they pay just as much for the
priviledge as do age-groupers.

Don't get me wrong; I agree that we should be consistent.
There is some amount of self deception in any division; only
one person gets to finish first, on a given course, on a
given day.

In the end, from my porch, it looks like Clydes add more
than they take away - - except at the buffet. : )

rsquared