The draw of the Tinman Triathlon was enough to keep Tim Marr going yesterday.

Marr, 29, won for the third consecutive year, finishing in 1 hour, 45 minutes, 44.5 seconds at Kapi'olani Park.

"I just came back from two half-triathlons in Seattle and Rhode Island," Marr said. "I was fatigued and just had to get in a rhythm, establish a lead and run strong."

Marr was second behind John Flanagan after the opening 750-meter swim at Queen's Beach. He then took the lead on the transition to the bike portion, a 40-kilometer ride to Hawai'i Kai and back. The race finished with a 10-kilometer run around Diamond Head.

Marr, who competes professionally, said the Tinman is "one of the most prestigious races and known across the country." That and the event's history were more than enough to bring him out.

"It's a good race to win," said Marr of Kapahulu. "I try to go hard in them. These Hawai'i races is really where the sport started."

Alexander Eiler of Kane'ohe was second in 1:46:22.6.

"I know I lose a lot on the swim," said Eiler, a 32-year-old University of Hawai'i researcher and last year's Xterra amateur winner on Maui. "I got into it (triathlons) a year ago. The swim is the weakest but I was able to catch up on the bike and run."

An Xterra competitor, Marion Summerer is used to training on mountain trails. The transition to a road race, especially coming off a three-week break from the Xterra East Championships, left some uncertainty. But the 26-year-old from Manoa took the women's title yesterday, winning in 1:58:33.7. Katherine Nichols was second in 1:59:10.4.

"I went out without expectations," said Summerer, who coaches herself, as well as other athletes with Dr. Michael McMahon. "The swim was hard; I swallowed a lot of water. The bike was tough; I usually train on a mountain bike and I didn't have a feel how fast I was in the beginning. I was trying to be more conservative, keep going and had to be focused."

Nichols saw the lights from the police motorcycles following Summerer, but wasn't able to close the "30-second gap."

"I need to rest more for races," said Nichols, who won the Tinman in 1998. "I'm pleased to be in the top three at age 42."

"I knew Katherine was coming," Summerer said. "I was trying not to panic and kept loose with my pace and strides."

Kapolei's Donohue Fujii, 45, is one of several athletes to complete all 29 Tinmans. He did his first because he was friends with the organizers, a small group that wanted to bring the Ironman experience to the public. Amy Harpstrite (2:17:20.7), Linda Kaiser (3:04:42.1) and Leland How (3:55:20.7) have also completed all 29 Tinmans.

"It's general wellness," said Fujii, who finished in 2:34:24.3. "I have to thank the man upstairs."

While Fujii finished his 29th, 15-year-old Lauren Watanabe finished her first. A member of Kalani High School's cross country team, the junior started biking with her father. That eventually led to May's Honolulu Sprint Triathlon, where she was first in her age division. Now she wants to make the Tinman an annual thing.

"I encourage other kids to do it," said Watanabe, who was third in her age group at 2:39.47. "It's fun. We need more competitors."