Best friends Rachel Ross and Katherine Nichols train together, compete alongside each other, fill in each other's sentences, and have even shared wins together.

At yesterday morning's Tinman Triathlon, they shared excitement for each other's first- and second-place finishes.

Though a tie would have been fine for these two moms who run together at 5 a.m. before their kids wake up.

"If it was close, we were going to try to tie," said Ross, 32, of Honolulu after winning the women's Tinman title in 1 hour, 59 minutes, 51.9 seconds. "We've done it twice (in races) this summer."

Nichols, 43, of Honolulu, finished second in 2:00:16.4 and Jessica Tranchina was third in 2:04:31.2.

John Flanagan, 34, of Palolo, won his first men's title with a time of 1:47:11.5. Three-time champion Tim Marr was second in 1:48:35.4 and Greg Price was third in 1:53:12.2.

"I tried to push on the bike, to hold (Marr) off as long as I could," Flanagan said.

The race consisted of an 800-meter swim in Waikiki, a 40-kilometer bike ride from Kapi'olani Park to Hawai'i Kai and back, and a 10-kilometer run from the park to Diamond Head and back.

As Ross, the 2007 winner, neared the finish line during the run, she looked back in search of Nichols, but couldn't find her. They were together during the swim and bike. It's been like that in previous races where they competed alongside each other and traded or shared wins.

"She out-transitioned me," Nichols said of the switch from the bike to the run. "She put the hammer down at the beginning of the run."

Ross thought, "Wow, I took off too fast."

Nichols, last year's runner-up, was happy she survived a bike tire that began to lose air during the race, a momentary stop for a shoelace that came undone and a rock that slipped into her other shoe. She was also thrilled for Ross.

"She's my friend; we get along so well," Ross said. "If she gets the lead, I'll yell 'go Katherine' and be happy."

Though he led the entire way, Flanagan was never comfortable. Known more for his swimming, he showed his strengths on the bike and run while keeping an eye behind him.

"I was very scared," Flanagan said. "I knew they were coming. I kept asking (spectators) and got all kinds of answers, 30 seconds to a half-mile."

Marr was within striking distance the entire time, estimating there was a 45-second to 1:20 gap between them. But a recent long trip to Asia took its toll on the 30-year-old from Kapahulu, and his body couldn't quite respond to some surges he attempted.

"When you don't train as much, it gets harder," Marr said.

Amy Harpstrite, Donohue Fujii, Linda Kaiser and Leland How continued their streak of perfection by completing all 29 Tinmans.

Harpstrite, 44, finished in 2:24:06.8 and was second in the women's 40-44 age division. Fujii, 46, (2:43:33.3) and How, 46, (3:56:50.8) were 29th and 46th in the men's 45-49. Kaiser, 58, was third in the women's 55-59 with a time of 3:17:51.3.