Livonia's Jennifer Greve is kicking off her weekend the same way she has for the past 14 years, walking around Bicentennial Park in Livonia talking to longtime friends, meeting new people – and always with a smile and a spring in her step.

It’s the early hours on a beautiful June Saturday morning as more of her friends begin to gather for the weekly parkrun event that runs (or walks) year-round and is part of a worldwide organization that started in Bushy Park, southwest London, on October 2, 2004.

It's “the community” that brings Greve and many others back to the starting line every Saturday morning.

“I don't love running, but the people here are amazing and I have multiple different circles of friends who I met here through parkrun,” she said. “These have become really deep, good and reliable friendships. We've really got something special here.”

Ann McHenry couldn’t agree more.

“I moved back to this area after being away for about 20 years and I wanted to find a place to make new friends and meet people, and parkrun has truly been amazing,” she said as she was preparing for her morning run. “These are some of the best people I've ever met. It's absolutely life changing.”

There are currently 99 active, free 5k parkrun events across the United States, including in Livonia, Novi and Canton. As of mid-2026, there are more than 2,800 parkrun locations worldwide, across 23 countries, including 1,200 in the UK, with as many as 500,000 participants every Saturday.

Parkrun recently celebrated its 1 millionth event and 14th year in Livonia.

Two of the most “amazing” aspects of parkrun is that it’s totally free to participate and is run by volunteers.

One of those volunteers, Tim Gallagher, is currently an event ambassador for parkrun USA and helps set up communities with their own parkrun events, when he isn’t organizing volunteers and greeting new people and familiar faces on Saturday mornings in Livonia.

“I got involved in Livonia parkrun in September 2014, and I ended up meeting a lot of nice people who turned out to be lifelong friends,” he said. “It is a great community. Everyone is friendly and welcoming. Plus the opportunity for fresh air and exercise with like-minded people really boosts your spirits and is great for mental health.”

The first Livonia parkrun was on June 2, 2012, and featured 28 people and seven volunteers.

“For the first few years, 20 to 40 people was the norm,” Gallagher said. “This year we average around 80 to 100 each Saturday, with a 2026 high of 141 for our 14th anniversary on June 6.”

The Livonia parkrun course starts and ends at the southwest corner of Bicentennial Park between the golf course clubhouse (Coach's Corner) and the baseball diamonds. All parkruns are 5K courses (3.1 miles).

“Our course is very pretty, and we get a lot of compliments from our out-of-town visitors,” Gallagher said. “My life basically is parkrun, and I do love Livonia parkrun and am very proud of how we have sustained and grown our little event to become a world-wide tourist destination among the parkrun community.

“I am still surprised at the lack of awareness among the Livonia community, and the general wider running community, and we would love to attract more people from the surrounding areas who can benefit from the sense of community belonging and benefit from the exercise and fresh air every Saturday morning.”

The event features everyone from runners trying to improve their times to moms pushing baby strollers and others just walking their dog. While each participant is at a different fitness level, everyone is part of the same welcoming, uplifting and positive community – and that’s what parkrun is really all about.

“You make some of the best friends of your life,” McHenry said. “There's people who have met here and have gotten married or met their partner here. We come together and help each other out and care about each other. It’s the best group of people you could ever hope to find.”

Livonia parkrun runs all year round, meeting at Bicentennial Park, 36000 W. Seven Mile Road. From June through September, the group meets at 8 a.m.; from October through May, the group meets at 9 a.m. There’s no cost to join, but you do need to register before the first time you show up.

For more information, or to register, visit www.parkrun.us/livonia.