Hello.  I was just talking to some of my co-workers about this very thing yesterday.  How funny!  I have been running for a few months now and will be competing in my 3rd 5K this Friday night in Charlotte, NC.  This is the first race that I've ever entered where they even had a Clydesdale/Athena category.  There are 5 of us total running.  The Clydesdale category starts at 140lbs. for women and 185 for men.  All 5 of us would be in the Clydesdale category if we wanted to sign up that way, but we did the open run.  Most of us are very tall and fit, some are shorter but very fit, we all run 5 days each week during our lunch break.  We ALL thought that it was offensive; the man of our group included.  Women worry so much about physical perception.  We know we're fit (most in size 4 or smaller), but the perception of a gigantic horse clomping down the street does little to boost a woman's self-esteem. It's also helpful to note that  the healthy weight for a medium size framed person with a height of 5' 5" is 127-144.  The taller you get the higher the numbers.  I personally don't think that I've been under 140 since I was in middle school. 

It's funny because the husband of one of the girls in my running group actually signed her up for the Clydesdale division of a race that she was just in.  He did it with completely honorable intentions.  She runs between a 9 and 10 minute mile so he thought that she could win given that most of the other women would be slower.  She was totally offended and refused to run with that division marker next to her name.  The stigma alone is upsetting.

We don't mind not winning the race, but we don't to run with the idea that those at the finish line can hear us coming.  I wish I could articulate this better, but point is - it's ridiculous!

As I type this reply I weigh 277 pounds.  I will be running in my first 5k on Thursday.  I wish that this race had a clydesdale weightclass.  it would give me an oppurtunity to see how I am doing compared to others in comparable condition.  I know that I am going to finish very close to the back (possibly last based on last year's results) and i would like to see how others who are over weight finished without trying to remember bib numbers of other "large" runners.

Here in Canada we seem to have age groups at most races, but I have never seen weight groups, though it seems a common practice south of the border.

My son had a weight problem several years ago, but lost 70lbs through running and attention to what he ate, he has maintained his weight around 175lbs. for 3 years or more.  It seems odd to me to say a person of a given height should weigh some specific amount: we are all built differently. My son is 12lbs heavier than I am, but 3 inches shorter, when he takes off his shirt you can count his ribs, he is much slimmer than I am.

It is unfortunate we tend to jump to conclusions about people based on their weight or appearance, my son was quite sensitive when he was heavy, part of  his motivation for losing, I try not to do this but don't always keep as open a mind as I should. People also seem to assume older runners like myself (58 this month), will be slow runners; not necessarily so, but I do like being able to compare myself with other runners of my age and gender. Cruisers is definitely a better term!

I believe the terms are gender specific - Clydesdale refers to men and Athena to women.  I'm borderline Clydesdale at about 190 lbs but am also 6'4" and never register in that category.

Sadly people are assuming that the classes are for  fatter runners - and that is not meant in anyway to be insulting - The classes are for heavier runners  - there is a big differance - I`m 155 lbs and about 18% body fat at the local races here I usually finish in the top 1/3 of all runners male and female  ( it`s very competitive ) and the top 20% of my age group =  If you ask someone to guess they would say I weight about 130 lbs -   There are 2 styles of runners - the light and waif - like and the power runners  - the power runners have more muscle and are heavier - I`m a power runner.  For sure carrying extra fat is detrimental to race times but I don`t think being muscular should be a handicap because you`re physically stronger.

I have never seen an athena division at the the races I enter -   I can`t tell you if I`d register or not - I guess I`d look at the past years results and see if it was a competitve field or not. I like to compete with myself  !