“May your ducks be lucky,” said Jen Costa, coordinator of the Fourth Annual Ducky Dash 5K Road Race at the event's award ceremony on a sunny Saturday morning.

The race was held to benefit the Mass Audubon Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary, which is located both in Dartmouth and Westport.

Each participant was awarded a rubber duck to be cast onto the evening tides at the twelfth Annual Duck Derby Fundraiser, which will take place on August 15 next to the sanctuary.

There, over 5,500 "adopted" rubber ducks will be set free, with the owner of the first duck over the finish line winning dinner for two to anywhere in the world with round trip airfare and two nights of lodging.

Gina Purtell, director of the Ducky Dash, said the sanctuary often connects with younger age groups and retirees, but they don't always connect with families who have middle and high schoolers.

“We wanted to figure out a way to tap into the population and add an additional aspect to our Duck Derby,” said Purtell. “The race has been growing ever since.”

“This is just a good old-fashioned road race,” said Costa, who has worked at the Mass Audubon for five years.

Costa said that the derby has always had close to 6,000 ducks entered, but she's hoping to eclipse that number this year by providing a little more motivation.

If that occurs, the owner of the 6,000tth duck purchased will receive seven nights of luxury accommodation in Antigua.

The winners of the Ducky Dash 5K received an additional flock of five ducks in the race. In total, there were 74 participants in the race. According to Purtell, it was a record number.

“It’s a beautiful race course along the coast,” said Purtell. “We did a joint water theme with the Watershed Alliance and the Westport Land Conservation Trust, focusing on how our waters are joined and interconnected.”

"It was great," said runner Matt Margetta. "There was a really nice view."

The top male finisher, Jim Flanagan of Fairhaven, came in first with a time of 18:31.

The first female finisher was Sara Guile of Boulder, Colorado, who came in at 20:24.

“I’ve been running for a long time and every time I travel, I look for a road race in the area,” said Guile, who is on vacation visiting family. “It was a fun race, and I’d do it again if I visit during the same time again next year.”

The top Dartmouth finisher was Brian Kite, who set a personal record for himself.

“It was my best time and I’ve been trying to break 21 [minutes] for a long time,” said Kite. “I like the local races and the weather was perfect.”