Clearwater community competes in first-ever Duck Dash 5K

CLEARWATER, Fla. - A 61-foot inflatable duck has invaded Clearwater, and 5K runners were all about it. 

What they're saying:

"It's duck mania in Clearwater," Bruce Rector, mayor of Clearwater, said.

Sunday morning, hundreds of runners ran a 5K around "Mama Duck" in honor of her making a big splash right in downtown Clearwater.

 "We had almost 500 people this morning and a lot of them just heard about it in the last 24 hours and decided to run. So we're excited about the duck to be here in another two weeks, and we're excited to have more and more families come visit," Rector said.

Mama Duck was brought in as a way to keep people intrigued with what’s happening in the city.

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"We had a staff member, Amber Bryce, she's a Jeep owner, so it's kind of the Jeep community is all about the little rubber ducks that they put in each other's vehicles. She brought the idea to us. At first, I kind of turned my head like a dog, kind looks at you funny, and I was like, ‘Well, how's that going to work?’ I knew it would work with kids and Jeep owners, but it's had much wider reach. You know, everyone, including my 25-year-old son, his buddies have said, ‘Hey, have you got your picture taken with the duck yet?’ From all over country," Rector said.

"This event was super successful, did exactly what it was supposed to do, brought a lot of people down here, families, runners and just for a really good time to interact with Mama Duck," Jennifer Poirrier, city manager for the city of Clearwater, said.

Whether you’re a seasoned runner or a duckling looking to spread their wings, community engagement is what’s key to keeping the city thriving.

 "It’s all about bringing people down so they can check out all the great things that are going on in Clearwater," Poirrier said. "We're known for public arts, especially the performing arts and this was a public art piece just meant to bring people so you can see what's going on and downtown, we've got a ton of construction. You can see the cranes in the background. We feel like we're on the verge of an urban renaissance, and we bought Mama Duck to show off, so people can just see what we got going on down here." 

You can see Mama Duck now through Jan. 26.  

To see if Mama Duck is up for the city to see, or down due to high winds, view the webcam here.