I am in the same boat at 5'8. Even at my skinniest I am still hovering around "Athena". I register age group. Simply because I do not feel like I am any different than any "skinny" women.
Just my own opinion. Its up to you and how you personally want to compete. There is nothing right or wrong either way. I mean , it is what it is really :)

I agree with Triguy.... I would rather work my butt off and beat the rest of my age groupers than dominate in the Clyde class. I am 6'4 and hover around 215-220 even with low body fat. No way can I run like a 5'10 145lb guy, but that just makes me work harder on the swim and bike.

I also think you should be racing AG but I don´t agree with triguy it is going to make you slower at any race distance. of course if it´s longer you´ll suffer more and sacrifice even more time but it will hurt your sprint times also.

But.....remember the beautiful thing about this sport is that you are competing against yourself.

Tom Price, M40-44 was 20th overall 3 weeks ago at the Desert Half Ironman (BBB did it too - 41 minutes behind Tom)
Tom is 6'2" and 200lbs or more.
He also won Ironman Canada twice - 20 years ago

Kelowna Apple Olympic DistanceTriathlon was won by Joop Bierskens of Red Deer in `1994. He was 6'2" 200lbs

I know these facts because I was there and I am 6'3" and a Clydesdale, 215lbs now.

Clydesdale and Athena categories are just to add a bit of fun, nothing more.
I like looking over the heads of the crowd at a marathon and nodding to the other tall / big runners as we make eye contact above the heads of the pencil necks who are about to leave us in their dust. heh.

I can't haul my 215lbs over the Richter pass like say, Alberto Contador can,
but if we even things up by strapping 90lbs of sandbags to his bike - I'll take him on and whip his skinny Spanish butt!

PoC

Hear Hear, I race Clydesdale Class (6'5", 225#), and one of the guys in my AG regularly runs 5:30 mpm in a International Duo's for both runs....

No way, I can run a sub 6 mile, I've run 20:02 in a 5K, but was totally spent after that race!

That is an excellent run split...for a Clyde...which is why he ought to be patted on the back rather than called a "poor sport."

Couldn't disagree more - for reasons already stated.

Well this is how I look at it...and it is just MY opinion from someone hovering in that catigory. I will never have the body to be a gymnast, a jockey , a figure skater. I am ok with that. I was given what I have and will make the best of it. My height alone dictates I will probably always be this way if I want to eat at all :p . Should I have a special catigory to compete in because of it, no I don't think so. I do the sport for challenges it gives me, the a satisfication of being fit and the journey to begin and see the race through.

Besides, its nice to kick the skinny peoples butts and know that just because I have a few extra pounds I am still more fit and healthier than most people out there on the street.

alberto might float due to capillary action he's so slim...

It's a fact...extra weight is a disadvantage at any distance. Wider bodies mean more surface drag in the water and more drag on the bike. If you factor in hilly terrain, the difference is even moreso. I'm 6'3" and weigh around 210 lbs. I have run a sub 20 5k in a sprint race. VO2 max is in 95th percentile for age, but I'll never run with a 150 lb guy in my AG. If weight doesn't matter, then why are we ALL riding around on 17 lb. carbon rigs? I don't think any of you smaller guys want to get into a bench press contest with a fit Clyde, right? Why? Same principle here.

I think you should go for it. One thing I think the Athena and Clydesdale categories are great for is encouraging more people to race and to compete. I honestly don't understand why AG'ers get their panties in a wad over this category - it doesn't take anything away from people placing in age groups to add a different category, and you can't qualify for Nationals or Worlds as an Athena/Clyde. It's just another way for people to compete with similar folks and to have fun.

I've entered as an Athena many times, and it's never to just "get on the podium". I'm usually on the podium in my age group anyways. I enter because I think it's great for people to understand that bigger athletes are at a disadvantage, especially in an endurance sport like triathlon, but that we can still be fit and pretty darn fast. I've only been under 150 pounds for about 2 weeks in my adult life, even when training for IM-distance races. So this is my natural size. Sometimes my muscle gives me an advantage - say on a windy bike course where the smaller gals are getting blown around. But some of them will still pass my on the run because at 115 pounds it's a whole lot easier to run a 6:00 mile than it is at 160 pounds! I'd love to strap a 50 pound backpack on some of these skinny minnies who are complaining about the Clydesdale categories and ask them to run 30 miles a week with it on, LOL.

If you feel like competing as an Athena, I say go for it! That's what the category is made for, and it works on the same principle as the AG categories - that people should be able to compete with other similar folks. An 80 year old can't compete with a 35 year old, and you probably won't see an Athena or Clyde on the Kona platform, but these categories give folks a place to compete.