Even when he feels like he's not moving, Jamie Mitchell is paddling fast.

Mitchell was again the class of the field, winning the Quiksilveredition Moloka'i to O'ahu Paddleboard Race for the fourth consecutive year yesterday.

Mitchell, a lifeguard from Queensland, Australia, completed the 32-mile course from the Kaluako'i Hotel, Moloka'i, to Maunalua Bay, O'ahu, in 5 hours, 5 minutes, 9 seconds.

It was nine minutes short of the course record he set last year, but still the second-fastest winning time in the nine-year history of the race.

"The first three hours were really fun — I thought this was going to be the best ever," said Mitchell, 28. "But the last two hours were terrible."

Around 120 competitors entered the race, which is considered the world championship of long-distance paddleboarding.

"The current felt like it was just raging against us," Mitchell said. "Mentally, it was like you were going nowhere."

But with Honolulu lifeguard Brian Rocheleau on his tail, Mitchell said he was pushed to victory by his will to win.

"I hate losing," he said.

Rocheleau finished second in 5:07:09, and was the top Hawai'i paddler for the fourth consecutive year.

"Jamie is phenomenal out there, and he's definitely the guy to beat," said Rocheleau, 29. "I wasn't really focusing on him. I was just trying to surf as best I could — focus on my race. I think that helped me."

Kanesa Duncan, a graduate student at the University of Hawai'i, won the women's division for the fourth time in five years. Her winning time was 6:16:26.

Australia's Hayley Bateup, who beat Duncan in 2003, finished second in 6:28:44.

"I've raced against her about six times and she's always gotten me before," Duncan said. "And I really did compete with some of the guys, so I'm really stoked."

Mitchell led the field practically from the start, and his lead was never threatened.

"Every other year I've seemed to have to come from behind, so I sort of thought I'd do the opposite and try to take it out early this year," he said. "And it worked."

Perhaps fittingly, Mitchell used a 17-foot paddleboard called "Infront." Mitchell said he took more of a south course across the Kaiwi Channel, while Rocheleau went north.

Even though he had to paddle into the trade winds in the last hour of the race, Mitchell was able to maintain his lead over Rocheleau.

"Trying to get to land took forever," Mitchell said. "In fact, Brian may have even closed the gap at the end. I was starting to hurt at the end."

Nathan Henderson of Australia was third in 5:17:47, Ryan Addison of California was fourth in 5:18:34, and North Shore lifeguard Guy Pere was fifth in 5:25:00.

Duncan and Bateup were the only women to enter the race solo (there was also a two-person team division).

Duncan said she got to catch several swells across the channel, and was never aware of Bateup's position.

"The (wave) bumps were actually pretty easy to get into," Duncan said. "It's always fun when you can surf for 20 seconds or so."

Duncan's thighs were bleeding after she crossed the finish line because she said her board created a rash.

Bateup said her legs were cramping during the race, and she also struggled in the final two hours.

"By the time we were getting closer (to O'ahu), the water was pushing against me," Bateup said. "It's not real fun when you go into water and you just don't go anywhere."

Eric Meech of California won the stock paddleboard division in 6:04:21. In the open division, paddlers can use a board of any length. In the stock division, all the boards are 12 feet.

The Australian duo of Hayden Smith and Bruce Taylor won the team division in 5:12:46.

For the first time, the race featured a "stand-up" division, in which the paddlers must stand on the board the entire way and power themselves with a canoe paddle.

In the other divisions, the paddlers either lie prone or kneel on the board and power with arm strokes.

The Hawai'i duo of Todd Bradley and Brian Keaulana won the stand-up team division in 5:42:31.

"It's not easy," Keaulana said. "It's like standing on an exercise ball and trying to balance while paddling and trying to read the surf and the wind and the currents.

"It's part surfing, part sailing, part canoe paddling. But we still caught some unbelievable rides — 200 yards on some. Once you get it, it's fun."