More than 500 athletes of all ages swam, cycled, and ran their way through Onset Village on Saturday for the Escape the Cape triathlon.

The fourth-annual race kicked off later than usual, due to a big Friday rainstorm that carried into the early morning.

"We are extremely lucky to be swimming today at all," Race Director Tim Richmond of Max Performance told the crowd of athletes gathered on Onset Beach for the 10:30 a.m. start. "How about the weather that was ordered up?"

Fortunately, the later time kept the athletes completely out of the rain, and the sun even peeked through the clouds at some points.

The race traditionally features a 1/3-mile swim from Shell Point to the Onset Pier, a 10-mile bike to Little Harbor Beach and back to the Pier, and a 3.1-mile run with views of the East River.

The cycling portion of the race had to be shortened to 8.3 miles, however, because Friday night's strong storm took its toll on Little Harbor Beach.

"It's flooded," Richmond said. "There are rocks, sand. It's a mess."

The participants didn't seem to mind. They were just eager to begin. So they did.

As Queen's "We Will Rock You" blared over speakers, the athletes -- in a sea of colorful swim caps -- made their way down the beach.

The first-place male winner was Robert Hollinger, 21, of Worcester, who clocked in at 46:45. Chris Barrett, 42, of Westford came in second with a time of 47:03, and Joe Rich, 22, of Hanson came in third with 48:26.

Female first-, second-, and third-place winners were Kimberly Shattuck, 42, of Bridgewater, with at time of 52:25; 27-year-old Kayle Shapero of Boston at 54:00; Andrea Love, 34, whose hometown was not available, clocked in at 55:46.

The following town residents participated:

Roger Spring, Wareham, 52:46
Christopher Moulding, Wareham, 57:37
Kelly Spring, Wareham, 1:05:59
Cary Johnson, West Wareham, 1:11:13
Susan Clavin, Onset, 1:11:46
Nichole Jones, East Wareham, 1:12:36
Kelly Onanian, West Wareham, 1:14:01
Scott Onanian, West Wareham, 1:19:00
Amy Hughes, Buzzards Bay, 1:29:25
Donna Simmons, Buzzards Bay, 1:35:47
Paul Griffin, Onset, 1:58:15