More than 500 local runners were on hand at Eisenhower Park on Thursday evening, June 1, for the 9th annual edition of the David Lerner Associates Long Island Police Appreciation Run - the Long Island running community's way of saying "thank you" to the outstanding men and women of our local police forces in Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

When the dust had settled it was 27-year-old Manon Bibeau of Roslyn Heights who was the first woman overall to cross the finish line. Manon completed the 3.1 mile course in 19 minutes, 37 seconds, a 6:10 minutes per mile pace that got her to the finish line 47 seconds in front of her nearest competitor.

Manon's performance was part of a tremendous outpouring of support from Long Island runners for the Long Island Police Crisis Fund that helps local police officers and their families in times of personal financial emergency. The entire net proceeds of the Run go to this most important fund, and it was gratifying to see so many local runners out to say "thank you" for all the fine work done by "Long Island's Finest."

The Police Run was once again sponsored by the Syosset-based investment firm of David Lerner Associates and conducted by the Greater Long Island Running Club, with GLIRC's Ira Eskow of Woodbury once again serving as the race director. David Katz of Finish Line Road Race Technicians was the technical director once again, with scoring by the ChampionChip.

"We were delighted by the fine turnout once again this year," observed Race Director Ira Eskow. "The police always go that extra mile for Long Island, so we are happy to go 5 kilometers to support them! Our special thanks to Manon and to all the other runners form Roslyn Heights, East Hills, Roslyn and the rest of Long Island who were part of the Run this year!"