Hundreds of participants and spectators gathered at the Lehighton Recreation Center for the inaugural Officer Down 5K Run/Walk.

Various law enforcement agencies from Carbon and Lehigh counties were on hand to support the participants.The Allentown Police Department Honor Guard and the Bethlehem Police Department Mounted Unit provided support for the festivities.Local event organizer Nikki Nothstein said more than 700 runners and walkers participated.Final numbers were not available at press time.Nothstein, who is married to a police officer in Bethlehem, said, "The more I think about how little we do locally to support our officers the more I wanted to bring something home to them. We have had a couple sad years in the last five or so where the line-of-duty deaths hit very close to home. It always strikes a chord throughout the whole Blue Line Family," she said.Kreg Rodriguez of Palmerton a state police trooper with the Bethlehem barracks, attended with his wife, Kim, and daughter Kayla.It was clear why they were participating. "To support the law enforcement community," Rodriguez said.Andrew Ronemus, an 11th-grade history teacher from Portsmouth, Virginia, participated in honor of his uncle, officer Bob Ronemus, who was a police officer in Lehighton in the 1950s and 1960s.Ronemus' parents live in Albrightsville and he was in the area for spring break."This is the first time I ran a race since track and field for Pleasant Valley High School," Ronemus said.Brian Alboucq of Lehighton was running Sunday "to support a good cause and local law enforcement."The event kicked off shortly after 10:25 on a beautiful Sunday morning. PSP Strong shirts were sold as a fundraiser for the state police.A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Cpl. Bryon K. Dickson II Memorial Fund. Dickson was killed in an ambush attack as he left the Blooming Grove barracks on Sept. 12.Before the race, Heather Dantos, Dickson's sister-in-law, provided a tearful remark."Seven months and one day ago a great man was taken from us outside the Blooming Grove barracks. The outpouring for his fellow officers and my sister, Tiffany, has been tremendous."The overall winner in the men's category was Matthew Diehl of Catasauqua with a time of 18:34.The overall winner of the female category was Stephanie Bender of Albrightsville with a time of 21:00.