In the local triathlon scene these days, there's Tim Marr and there's everybody else.

Continuing the dominant run he started after turning pro two years ago, Marr shrugged off wind and rain yesterday to cruise to his second consecutive Tinman Triath-lon victory.

Marr, 28, ranked first in all three events and both transitions to finish in 1 hour, 44 minutes, 49.5 seconds. Mark Geoghegan, 43, trailed eventual third-place finisher Eduardo Sa, 41, until the last 2 miles of the run leg before digging in for a decisive push that earned him second place overall at 1:51:18.7. Sa finished in 1:52:46.8.

Bree Anne Wee, 27, suffered a nasty spill on her bike but persevered to top the women's division, placing fifth overall with a 1:54:59 finish. Last year's women's champ, Rachel Ross, 30, placed second at 1:56:12.2, followed by 38-year-old Sandra Ferreira in 2:07:34.1.

"Tim's in a league of his own," said Geoghegan, echoing a sentiment held up and down the field of more than 1,000 competitors.

Marr, a Mililani resident, took charge early, completing the 800-meter swim at Queen's Surf Beach in 9:56.9 then charging out of the first transition in less than a minute and a half. He followed that with a powerful bike ride (40 kilometers in 57:47.0), a 26-second bike-to-run transition and a speedy 35:11.7 10K run with no competition even close to striking distance.

Imagine what he might have done if his legs were fresh. Marr finished fourth in the 70.3 Lake Stevens Triathlon, a half-Ironman event, three weeks ago and the ITU Long Distance Triathlon Championships in Lorient, France, placing 17th overall, two weeks ago

"There's a lot of fatigue with all of that travel," he said. "I'm just happy to be home."

Despite his rising international status, Marr said he was gratified to be able to compete in the same field as so many local recreational athletes and that he's determined to represent the state well on bigger stages.

"There are a lot of people who think that you can't train in Hawai'i and still race at the highest level," Marr said. "I was born and raised here and I want to show that you can live here and train here and compete well on the highest levels.

"People here have been really supportive of me," Marr said. "I hope to inspire them because they inspire me."

For the last couple of years, the most compelling competition in local triathlons has been between Kona's Wee, the 2005 Tinman women's champ, and Hono-lulu's Ross, two elite athletes who have traded 1-2 finishes in several events.

Wee said she and Ross are so evenly matched in the bike and run events that she knew she had to get a jump during the initial swim leg.

She did, grabbing a lead of nearly a minute coming out of the water. But with rain in Hawai'i Kai rendering the course slick and unsteady, Wee lost control of her bicycle as she rounded back toward Kapi'olani Park.

"It just slipped out from under me," Wee said. "I knew Rachel was about a minute behind me and I couldn't stay down too long or she'd catch me. My hip was sore, but it wasn't bad, so I got back on and after about 10 minutes riding I felt OK."

Like Marr, Wee won despite a bit of lingering fatigue. She's been training for her first Ironman triathlon.

"I have a lot of miles on my legs," she said.

Geoghegan, an engineer from 'Aina Haina, was one of a dozen 40-somethings to crack the top 30.

"This year, a few of the younger guys decided to sleep in or something," Geoghegan said, laughing. "But there are some pretty fast old guys out there."

Geoghegan, who competed in his first Tinman just five years ago and joined the elite field for the first time this year, admitted he is "not the fastest swimmer or biker" in the field, but he knew he could make up time during the run.

Watching Wee wipe out on the bike course only reinforced Geoghegan's game plan to ride cautiously, but he didn't plan on getting a flat tire 5 miles from the finish. Already trailing Sa by more than a minute, Geoghegan decided to keep going rather than stop and change the tire.

After a quick transition, Geoghegan set out on the run course, up Monsarrat Avenue down Kilauea Avenue and back to Kapi'olani Park via Kahala Avenue and Diamond Head Road, intent on trying to catch Sa. He finally did so as the two made their way up Kahala Avenue.

"(Sa) was running really well so I had to dig deep," Geoghegan said. "He's an awesome competitor."

Of course, elite athletes make up only a fraction of the race, which has been dubbed "the people's triathlon" by organizers. First-timers accounted for nearly 40 percent of this year's field

"My goal was not to walk, to run every step even if it was at a snail's pace," said triathlon newbie Shelley Tokuda, 33, of Makiki. "My plan was just to cross the finish line. If I do it again, I'll try to do it faster."

Bryan Gonzalez, 45, of Manoa, was competing in his first triathlon in two decades. Since resuming his training last year, Gonzalez has lost nearly 40 pounds and, with the help of coach Mike McMahon, worked to improve his mental focus during events. The latter paid off as Gonzalez endured a comedy of mishaps on his way to winning his age division.

In addition to strong headwinds and rain along Kalaniana'ole, Gonzalez was slowed when the rubberband he uses to stabilize a water bottle on his bike snapped, forcing him to reach down to keep from losing it. Later, he collided with a bee and it stung his inner thigh.

"I just kept going," he said.

Gonzalez plans on doing a half-marathon in New York in hopes of qualifying for the Kona Ironman.

Vernon Ramos, 61, of Wahiawa, had completed six Tinman Triathlons while he was working as a supervisor for the Hawaiian Electric Co. But his post-retirement work as a carpenter took up so much of his time that he skipped the last three events.

"It was painful all the way," Ramos said of his return yesterday. "The bike (ride) was windy and it rained. The run was really hot. Other than that, it was OK.

"I haven't done this in three years, so the pain is new again," he said. "It's a refresher course in pain."

Still, perfect attendance is hardly a shield against physical discomfort. Ask Russell Goo, one of a handful of athletes to have completed all 27 Tinman Triathlons.

"Every year it gets harder," Goo, 57, said, smiling.

The rains caused several cyclists to fall along the route and there was one report of a cyclist getting hit by a car exiting a driveway. Still, more than three hours into the race, only about 40 competitors were directed to the event's medical tent, most for minor scrapes, sprains and cramping, according to volunteer medical student Scott Harvey.

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.