As the summer road-racing season winds down, the Labor Day weekend will see two large races.

First up is the Saturday in the Park Women's 5K in Holmdel, followed on Monday by the Pier Village 5K in Long Branch. The Pier Village event is the final race in the Jersey Shore Golden Grand Prix series.

The Saturday in the Park race is the largest women's race in the state, race director Penny Hinck said. Now in its 15th year, the race usually attracts between 400 and 500 runners. It's held on the challenging and hilly course in Holmdel Park.

The entry fee is $25. The race has raised more than $177,000 for local women's charities. Proceeds from this year's event will go to Epiphany House in Asbury Park and Long Branch, Providence House in Ocean County, and Spring House in Eatontown. For more information, visit www.saturdayinthepark5k. org.

Meanwhile, the Pier Village event is expected to attract between 800 and 900 participants. Noel Brock, of Toms River, who leads the women's division in grand prix points, and Luciano DeOliveira, who tops the men's division, are both expected to run.

Brock has been downright dominant in the other grand prix events, winning the Spring Lake 5, the George Sheehan Classic and the Asbury Park 5K. She finished second in the Belmar Five Johnny Cobb Memorial Run. DeOliveira, took fifth in the Sheehan, 10th at Spring Lake and 11th in the Asbury Park 5K. Craig Segal, of Long Branch, who won in the Sheehan and Spring Lake, is also entered, race director Phil Hinck said.

Now in its fifth year, the Pier Village race has grown from about 250 participants, and Phil Hinck is hoping to get it to over 1,000 in the near future. Typically, he said, the race gets about 100 fewer runners than the Asbury Park 5K, which drew about 1,000 runners on Aug. 9.

"A lot really depends on the weather," he added. "But overall we're really happy with its growth, and the concept of the grand prix is catching on."

The race will start in front of the Pier Village gazebo and follow an out-andback course along the beach. Registration is $20 through Aug. 31 and $25 on race day. For more information, visit www.jsrc.org. The Jersey Shore Golden Grand Prix standings are also available on the Web site.