The Jersey Shore Golden Grand Prix series of road races came to a close on Labor Day with the Pier Village 5K in Long Branch.

Dersce Deriboba of Ethiopia outdueled fellow countrymen Genna Tuffa to win by two seconds with a time of 14:45.5 on a relatively cool day. Buzunesh Deba, another Ethiopian, won the women's race in 16:46 for her second Jersey Shore Golden Grand Prix victory. Deba also won the Belmar Five Johnny Cobb Memorial Run in July.

Noel Brock of Toms River took second in the women's division with a time of 17:08. Brock won the women's division of the Golden Grand Prix thanks to her victories in the Spring Lake Five, the George Sheehan Classic and the Asbury Park 5K. Brock also finished second in Belmar.

Luciano Oliveira of Long Branch finished ninth overall and ends the summer on top of the Grand Prix standings in the men's division.

Race director Phil Hinck said that cooler conditions helped runners as they ran the out and back course near the beach. In all, 778 runners finished the race, which has grown steadily from the 250 or so runners who participated in the first Pier Village 5K five years ago.

Hinck noted that more than 18,000 runners participated in at least one Golden Grand Prix event, with about 9,000 of those running the Spring Lake 5. More than 200 runners completed all five Golden Grand Prix events.

"We were pretty lucky this year because we had good weather for all five races," he said. "Hopefully, that will continue next year."

Hinck said he and his team of countless volunteers are already beginning preliminary preparations for the 2009 Grand Prix series, which kicks off May 23, 2009.