John Reback had just beaten the field of more than 1,000 competitors for the third time at the brutal Escape to Miami Triathlon on Sunday morning.

But lying flat on his back on a finish-line stretcher with pools of sweat and waves of nausea washing over him, it looked more like the course had handed him a beating.

Reback, 39, needed a late burst to maintain his lead over Edmundo Herrera, who pushed him the entire way and finished six seconds behind Reback's time of 2:04:09.

``On the run I tried to catch him, but he seemed to get me the whole way,'' Herrera said as Miami Fire Rescue paramedics tended to Reback at a medical tent set up near the finish line. ``He's a great competitor.''

It was 20 minutes before Reback could speak and 30 minutes before he felt strong enough to formally waive medical assistance.

``You know your body -- you've done this before,'' one paramedic said when Reback told him he did not need to be taken to a hospital.

Some of his first words: ``How close was [Herrera]?'' were followed by a shrug when told that Herrera was right on his heels.

``I just pushed too hard, ran out of electrolytes, and I just balked. You keep pushing it, and then you crack,'' Reback said.

``You try to pace yourself, but I want to win, so I race it to win. I wanted to win too bad.''

Reback wasn't surprised when the South Florida heat sapped the last of his energy on the final miles of the 10K run. Although he is a native of Palm Beach, the humidity index still has its effect on him, he said.

Despite the postrace medical concerns, it was a banner day for the Reback clan.John's sister, Olympic triathlete Laura Bennett, came from behind to win the Ironman 70.3 in Augusta, Ga., on Sunday. Her husband, Australian racing great Greg Bennett, paced the men in Augusta.

Reback won the Escape to Miami Triathlon in 2005 and 2007, but in 2008 his aggressive strategy backfired, and he was unable to finish.

His time Sunday bettered his mark of 2:10.12 in 2007, but that race was wrought with high winds and choppy waters that slowed the field.

The Escape to Miami has made small course changes since its inception in 2004, but the principles are static: a boat drop on Escape Island in Biscayne Bay, a 0.9-mile swim to shore, a 24.8-mile bike run over the Julia Tuttle Causeway and a 6.2-mile (or 10K) run over MacArthur Causeway, finishing up at Margaret Pace Park. The race also includes a sprint version (0.25-mile swim, 13-mile bike, 3.1-mile run).

Miami 21 construction downtown caused some tweaks this year, but runners still shared road space with cars. A few falls and scrapes over uneven paving were the only injuries.

Women's winner Isabel Olivias, a former collegiate swimmer from Garner-Webb University in North Carolina, was the first competitor -- man or woman -- out of the water.

``The running part killed me, but I love this race,'' said Olivias, a Miami native who raced while recovering from a cold. ``Those last three miles were awful.''

Sunday's Escape was further proof that open events such as triathlons, marathons and 5K races might be recession-proof, at least in South Florida.

After April's Corporate Runs in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties posted overall attendance only slightly down from previous years (with Miami even posting an increase), the Escape to Miami set a record for participation.

The registration fee of $125 is a modest figure, but a high-level triathlete can expect to spend up to $5,000 annually in training and bicycle maintenance.

``If you love it, you find a way to pay for it,'' said triathlon competitor Laura Sanz of Kendall.