Patt Loggins - a seven-time Ironman triathlon finisher and the best female triathlete to hail from the area - won her first Charleston Sprint Triathlon Series race in three years Sunday with an exclamation mark.

That exclamation was posting the second-fastest time for females since her last victory on July 6, 2003.

Loggins, 44, finished with a time of 1 hour, 2 minutes, 59 seconds, which was more than four minutes faster than the second- place female and earned her ninth place overall.

Her time was off a bit from her dominant years in 2001 and 2002, when she won seven of eight triathlons (she missed one) for females in the series. During that time, she even broke the hour mark and finished in the top five overall. But the hard training caught up to her and she suffered from sciatica so severe that she hasn't been able to train sufficiently for competition.

With the exception of the fourth sprint triathlon last year (she finished third overall for females with a 1:06:17), Loggins basically dropped out of competing seriously until this year.

In '06, she set her sights on the Eagleman Ironman 70.3, formerly known as the "Half Ironman," in Cambridge, Md., on June 11 and finished in 5:00:02, the second-place female master and 24th overall. That almost got her a much-coveted invitation to the 2006 Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, with a finish of 5:00:02.

"It was a blessing in disguise that I didn't get it," Loggins said of the qualifying spot for Kona that would be hard to turn down.

Still, Loggins is accepting a spot for the Ironman 70.3 Championships in Clearwater, Fla., on Nov. 11.

She's obviously feeling better, partly due to scaling back her training to a more sane level.

So is Patt back? The short answer is "sorta."

"I'm struggling with motivation," she admits. "I've been out of the sport for three years and there is other stuff in my life."

Loggins is the co-owner, along with her husband, Mike, of The Extra Mile running store downtown. Both have been busy putting on races, including the upcoming Daniel Island Twilight Fun Run Series, and working on their house. The time-off also may have mellowed her fierce competitiveness and drive to train. "Triathlon was my life for a lot of years. At some point, it will get old."

In the meantime, she plans to compete in the fourth and final sprint triathlon on Aug. 13 and admits that she'll have to "rev up the mileage" for the 70.3 championships. While hedging on her triathlon future, Loggins did admit one thing about the sprint triathlon on Sunday: "It was fun to be out there again and to see all the new faces."

The series championship

The final triathlon will be a competitive one, as it usually is. On the line is the series championship, and the male open/elite division will be a fight to the finish.

Five men have been playing musical chairs with the top five overall spots this summer and the winner may just boil down to who is the most well-rested. The top point leaders are Czech-born Radek Parnica of Savannah, local medical student and 2005 series champ Zach Stroud, Nick Felix of Hilton Head Island, Venezuelan John Alvarez Jr. of Bluffton, and Jerry Rothschild of Savannah.

In a much less competitive series lineup, Laura Dechamplain of Georgetown, Staci Reidinger of Bluffton and Betsy Reves of Charleston will vie for top open/elite female.

Series champions have to compete in three of the four triathlons, but the final one is the most important because it counts as double points.

Coming up / Results

THURSDAY-Daniel Island Twilight Fun Run 5K. 6:30 p.m. Daniel Island Park Clubhouse area. $10-$15. www.theextramileinc.com or 853-9987 for more information.

SATURDAY-Isle of Palms Beach Run. 4-mile run. Beach near the Windjammer. $10-$15. www.iop.net or 886-8294.

The third of four triathlons in the 16th Charleston Sprint Triathlon Series was held on Sunday. 313 people finished. Complete results are on www.charlestontriathlonclub.com or www.rmssports.com.

OVERALL: Male - Radek Parnica 58:12, John Alvarez 58:29, Jerry Rothchild 59:38, Christopher Rudek 1:00:12, Steve Fitch 1:04:27. Female - Patt Loggins 1:02:59, Jenny McDonagh 1:07:03, Laura Dechamplain 1:08:25. MASTERS: Male - Lance Leopold 1:02:19. Female - Julie Pippins 1:10:35. CLYDESDALE - Lance Davis 1:13:53. ATHENA - Melanie Stuart 1:13:34. AGE GROUPS (Top male and female): 15-under - Thomas Pittman 1:16:14. Elizabeth Kovarik 1:26:37. 16-19 - Elliot Hitchcock 1:08:16. Lauren Widman 1:28:40. 20-24 - Adam Dewitt 1:03:10. Mary Paulsen 1:07:36. 25-29 - Zach Harris 1:01:01. Rives Poe 1:11:04. 30-34 - Wayne Brown 1:05:25. Keri Bowers 1:10:20. 35-39 - Jim Daniel 1:03:18. Heather Smith 1:10:17. 40-44 - Omar Moreno 1:04:33. Caroline Sinkler 1:11:01. 45-49 - Don Leech 1:03:45. Millie Tanner 1:11:28. 50-54 - Rick James 1:02:33. Nancy James 1:20:25. 55-59 - Don Altman 1:13:46. Susan Radley 1:24:49. 60-64 - Neil Jacobs 1:15:41. No female. 65-69 - Richard Webster 1:14:06. No female. 70-74 - No participants. 75-99 - William Boulter 1:25:55. No females.