An Emotional Support Duck Ran the New York City Marathon in Custom Webbed Sneakers

"She is fast. She is speed. She is zoom," Wrinkle the duck's owner wrote on YouTube, sharing video of the bird running the 50th New York City Marathon

Marathon Duck
Photo: seducktive/instagram

The runners in last weekend's 50th New York City Marathon had some pretty cute competition.

An emotional support duck named Wrinkle has gone viral after her owner shared video of the feathered sprinter running the race in what appeared to be a pair of custom webbed sneakers. "I ran in the New York Marathon," they captioned the TikTok post, which has surpassed 1.8 million likes.

"Wrinkle the duck is more than just a beautiful pekin duck, she is a full grown adult human child," Wrinkle's owner wrote with a YouTube video. "She is fast. She is speed. She is zoom. She is wrinkle. Still fast as duck boiiii."

Runners and spectators alike were pleasantly surprised to see Wrinkle in the race, cheering on the duck as she waddled by. "Thanks to all the humans that were cheering for me!!" Wrinkle's owner wrote on Instagram.

"This is the cutest thing I have ever seen," one follower wrote. "I need Wrinkle's brand shoes," another commented. "Ducks supporting ducks," the Aflac Duck wrote to Wrinkle on Instagram.

Wrinkle was one of 33,000 runners in the 26.2-mile race, including a variety of celebrities from television, movies, music, and sports. It was the first time the New York City Marathon has been held since 2019, after it was cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

RELATED VIDEO: Runners Help New York City Marathon Participant Cross Finish Line

Kenyan runners Albert Korir and Peres Jepchirchir took home the gold in the men's and women's races, respectively, after completing the five-borough race on Sunday. Marcel Hug of Switzerland and Australia's Madison de Rozario prevailed in the men's and women's wheelchair races.

The race kicked off, as always, on Staten Island. Leaving the borough via the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, the race took runners through Brooklyn and then into Queens before reaching Manhattan. After a trip up into the Bronx, runners headed back down into Manhattan and finished in Central Park.

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