11 running events in Walker, Michigan
From big races to Saturday morning group runs—find running events and connect with the local endurance sports community.
Walker
11 events in Walker-
Fri, Feb 06, 2026 at 6:30 PMSee full details
We’ve all heard of Punxsutawney Phil, the little furry guy in Pennsylvania who comes out, sees his shadow, and declares six more weeks of winter. Then there’s Augustus T. Groundhog, better known as Grand Rapids Gus. He’s Phil’s much more interesting cousin. Unlike Phil, who it seems can only see shadows, Gus has much better eyesight and can look at a calendar on February 2 and know that spring doesn’t start for six weeks. Gus suggested that instead of lamenting over six more weeks of winter, we should EMBRACE the cold and snow and do something fun. And so, the Groundhog Day Marathon was born.
The modified course for 2024 was pretty popular. We've certified the new course, so we'll be starting behind the pavilion this year again. Looking forward to seeing you in 2026!
EARLY START--If you're planning to be running more than about 6 hours, please start at the 7:00 am early start. The normal start is at 8:00 am
The Basics
It’s a winter running event, outside Grand Rapids Michigan. YES! THERE WILL PROBABLY BE LOTS OF SNOW ON THE COURSE.
The Friday and Saturday beginning of February. In 2026, it's February 6-7.
It’s more fun than you should have with your clothes on. (And we DEFINITELY suggest you keep your clothes on!)
Our Events
Friday - Moonlight 1/6 Marathon on Groundhog Eve: WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 1/6 MARATHON! Hey, we’re going to be set up anyway, no sense in just long-distance people having all the fun. Two loops of the course. 6:30 p.m. Friday. 300 Runner limit.
Saturday - Marathon: Like the movie, you’ll feel like you’re repeating the same day over and over. A beautiful, snowy (we hope), approximately 2.2 mile course. Splits every 1/12th of a marathon. 8:00 a.m. Saturday. 500 Runner limit combined for full and half marathons
Saturday - Half Marathon: For those of you who couldn’t stay awake through the whole movie. Only six times around.
Course
Ever see the movie? The course will give you the opportunity to relive the same day several times. A total of 12 loops of approximately 2.18 miles on a CERTIFIED course (Yes! You can qualify for Boston!) will have you feeling just a little case of deja vu. Aid stations at 1 mile plus the finish line area. Don’t plan on the course being free of snow. It’s paved, which means no underlying rocks and roots, but that’s about all we’re promising.
Swag - Every participant will get an awesome hoodie, finisher medal. Whole and Half-Hog get a stocking cap as well.
Training Partner - And our Official Training Program for Groundhog
RunGR is our largest local running club and has multiple coaches, who provide training programs for all of our races. With a club of more than 300 runners, the club provides a great opportunity to not only get a coaching plan, but also do your training with a large group of local athletes. RunGR will be offering a training plan, specific to Groundhog distances, as well as a prorated membership, known as their FAST program, so you can try out the club for 20 weeks. https://rungr.com/
For our Official Training Program, CLICK
Hotels & Travel.
Our airport is GRR. Look for hotels HERE
This is a middle of the freakin' winter thing. Weather could suck. (Usually does.) You do know we're in Michigan, right? So register at your own risk. There are no refunds, deferrals until Friday of race weekend, no transfers. If there's a snowstorm of Biblical proportions, we'll have a snow date the next Saturday. If it's still not possible to hold the event, we'll give people registered for this year a 50% credit on next year's event.
You can transfer from one event to another--look yourself up and bring up your record. You'll have to pay the difference between the events. No refunds.
Contacts:
(Note--if you write with a question that's very plainly stated on the page, the email may get a low priority)
Race Director: Don Kern [email protected] 616 293 3145
Volunteer Coordinator: Stephanie Cornwell, [email protected]
Mailing Address: 1170 Oakburn Ave SE Grand Rapids, MI 49546
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Sat, Apr 25, 2026 at 8:00 AMSee full details
What’s YOUR passion? Here's your invitation to follow Shelley and countless others across West Michigan.
Join us on the morning of April 25th at Millennium Park for three community-powered events: a 5K Fun Run, a 2-Mile Walk, or a 1-Mile Dog and Kid Run. It's a day built around movement, connection, and supporting WGVU Public Media's mission.
A Message from Shelley:
"My passion is movement and setting goals that keep me energized in every part of my life. After 25 years on the air at WGVU, I've been running toward community, connection, and great storytelling every day. Now I get to run with YOU. Join me, sponsor, show up, hydrate, celebrate. Just say YES!"
Your support directly strengthens West Michigan by helping WGVU deliver:
• Trusted local journalism that keeps our community informed
• Educational programming that helps kids learn and grow
• Cultural content that celebrates the people and stories of our region
• Commercial-free programming accessible to everyone
When you support WGVU, you're investing in lifelong learning, public-service reporting, arts and culture, and the shared civic well-being of West Michigan.
And yes, there are perks.
Every participant receives a limited edition WGVU baseball cap, plus access to pre- and post-race refreshments, including a Bloody Mary bar and a charcuterie table that would make any West Michigan foodie proud.
Event Details:
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5K Fun Run (non-timed) at 10:00 AM
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2-Mile Walk at 10:05 AM
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1-Mile Dog Walk/Kids Run
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Date: April 25th, 2026
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Location: Millennium Park
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Benefiting: WGVU Public Media
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Strollers welcome
Whether you run, walk, skip, stroll, or let your dog set the pace, you'll be part of something bigger. 100% of proceeds support WGVU Public Media, fueling children's education, community storytelling, and the programming West Michigan relies on.
And since Shelley is marking 25 years at WGVU, she's not just hosting the Fun Run, she's basically lapping the quarter-century mark of connecting communities through radio. Come celebrate the milestone with us.
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Wed, Jun 03, 2026 at 6:00 PMSee full details
Schedule:
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10k Run @6pm
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5K Run/Walk @6:30pm
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Half Mile Walk/Roll @7pm
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Awards @7:30pm
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Music/Drinks/Snacks until 9:30 pm!
Join us for the Lung Legacy Run and Walk powered by Reel Free—a 10K run, 5K run/walk, and 0.5-mile walk with a heartfelt mission. This event is a tribute to the memory of the co-founders’ beloved grandfather, who battled pulmonary fibrosis.
The Lung Legacy Run is more than just a race; it's a call to action. It's a reminder of the importance of healthy lungs and clean air. It's a chance to honor those who have suffered from lung conditions and to support those currently fighting these hardships.
Through their startup company, which was awarded Student Startup of the YEAR 2024 by Michigan State University, the co-founders are working to increase the happiness and safety of people on supplemental oxygen, a cause close to their hearts. By participating in the Lung Legacy Run, you'll be joining a community united in the belief that everyone deserves to breathe clean air and enjoy healthy lungs. Together, we can raise awareness, support each other, and make a difference.
**Packet Pick-up: Wednesday, June 3rd, 4:30 pm-6:20 pm in the Grant Pavilion (Starting line of Race)
1400 Maynard Ave SW, Grand Rapids, MI 49534
Can't make it? Complete the Virtual 5K or 10K on your course by June 3rd!
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Sun, Jun 07, 2026 at 10:50 AMSee full details
Please join us on Sunday, June 7th, at the beautiful Millennium Park for the second annual Ele's Place - West Michigan Healing Hearts 5k!
Let's "Run for Kid's Grief Relief" while raising funds and awareness for grieving children, teens and their families in Grand Rapids and the surrounding West Michigan area. Ele's Place is a healing center for grieving children and teens. We provide grief support groups for kids ages 3-18, who have experienced the death of a parent, sibling or anyone significant in their life. All services are free of charge for as long as a family needs them. This is why we need YOU!
We invite families, corporate partners and the community to participate in this outdoor, family-friendly, "fun" run/walk event to raise funds for grieving kiddos, with the option to honor, celebrate and remember someone special in your life who has died. This event is an opportunity to put “one foot in front of the other” to support our peer-to-peer grief programs and ensure they remain FREE OF CHARGE to all who are in need of our services today, tomorrow and always. Let's come together to make sure that No Child Grieves Alone.
Grab your sneakers and meet us at Millennium Park!
Event Schedule:
9:30 AM: Event begins! Race Registration & Kid Zone activities open. (Face painting, yard games & more!)
10:45 AM: Event Welcome & Mission Moment Speaker
10:50 AM: Kid’s Dash
11:00 AM: 5k Run/Walk Starts!
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM: Kid Zone remains open, post-run/walk snacks and drinks available until 12:30 PM.
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Sat, Jun 27, 2026 at 10:00 AMSee full details
Come WALK or RUN with us to show your support for AQUME Foundation! This 5k event raises money for the OUR Justice Grant Fund. PLUS, this is an excellent opportunity to intentionally bring communities of color and allies together in beautiful green spaces to experience the wealth of health benefits that come from outdoor community gatherings. This is a family friendly event (Youth registration is only $15!) with music, food, giveaways, fun, and more! (Don't want to walk or run? Make a donation instead!)
$35 for Adults, $15 for Youth
Same Day registration $55 for adults, $25 for Youth
REMEMBER: ENTER AT THE MEADOWS ENTRANCE FOR GRANT PAVILION- NOT THE BEACH ENTRANCE.
Watch the FUN we had last year!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQUkDdMPji4&t=7s
5K ROUTE MAP: https://www.strava.com/routes/2937076358095586104
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Fri, Jul 24, 2026 at 7:15 AMSee full details
Tri Millennium is one of West Michigan's longest-standing multi-sport events and a favorite among many local athletes. Located in the beautiful Millennium Park in Grand Rapids, MI, Tri Millennium offers an Olympic and Sprint distance triathlon, duathlon, and aquabike. Our Olympic race features a 1,500-meter swim, 24.8-mile bike, and 6.2-mile run. Our Sprint distance race features a 750-meter swim, 12.4-mile bike, and 3.1-mile run. Relay options are available for both races.
The inland waters of Millennium Park are typically calm and pleasant, the surrounding roads follow the rolling terrain for the bike course, and the paved trails through the park are flat and fast, making Tri Millennium a great race for the elite athlete looking for a summer "A" race, a beginner athlete looking to complete their first triathlon, or a primer race for those prepping for the MiTi half or full triathlon later in August. With professional timing from Trivium Racing and a full complement of volunteers and support on race day, Tri Millennium is a race for everyone.
Tri Millennium's charity partner is Bridge Street Ministries, a Christian urban youth ministry in Grand Rapids' West Side, working to support the spiritual, academic, and social development of inner-city youth, leading them with a vision of hope and restoration and believing that they will be the future leaders of our community. 100% of the donations from Tri Millennium will go to support this important work. For more information, visit bsmgr.org.
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Thu, Aug 06, 2026 at 6:30 PMSee full details
We’re excited to welcome athletes, families, and community members to this year’s dog-friendly PAWS in the Park 5K and 1-mile run, walk, or roll celebration! Enjoy the race, food, music, vendors, and our beer garden—all while supporting PAWS' mission of transforming lives and strengthening communities through partnership with custom-trained working dogs.
Not planning to run the race? No problem! Join us at Paws in the Park for vendor booths, interactive activities, and our beer garden. Stick around for our iconic “Lab vs. Golden” race as we continue the beloved tradition and crown the top retriever of 2026!
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Sun, Aug 30, 2026 at 6:00 AMSee full details
Welcome!
For 2026, Millennium Meadows Marathon is proud to be hosting its 9th year! We will feature a Full Marathon, Half Marathon, 10k, and Marathon RELAY. All four events will take place Sunday, August 30th.
Again this year we are offering a referral program! Once you register you'll see a referral link that you can share via social media or email, with whoever will signup. Once they register using that code, YOU will be refunded $5 per person. It's good for as many times, until your registration is fully refunded! Who doesn't love money back?
Secchia Meadows provides the perfect course for a team relay, with each relay leg being roughly 4 miles. Round up a team and come compete. We'll set up a relay row, where teams can place tents and have a great time.
Millennium Meadows Marathon events occur at Secchia Meadows in Millennium Park, one of the many Kent County Parks and what we think is the most scenic and beautiful. You will run on a wide and paved path that crosses a footbridge, winds along the Grand River, and cuts through meadows. Most of the course is heavily shaded.
We are a proud supporter of the Kent County Parks Department and Team World Vision - Grand Rapids. Use our Donate button on the left menu, select which organization and follow the steps.
Events
Full Marathon 6 loops for 26.2 miles YES! THIS IS A BOSTON QUALIFIER (USATF CERTIFIED) COURSE
Marathon Relay 6 loops for 26.2 miles
Half Marathon 3 loops for 13.35 Half Marathon (with a 13.1 split mat!)
10k Distance 1 loop
Aid Stations
There will be two aid stations located on each loop, stocked with water and Gatorade. Water and Gatorade tables will be well spread out, and volunteers will place cups onto the tables. There will be no food provided on the course.
Awards
We award the first place winner of both Men's and Women's for each distance. We also award Age Group Winners, for first through third place, Men's and Women's, for each event.
0-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60+ (and don't worry, you chronically gifted runners, if there are age brackets above these, we'll take care of you!)
Parking
There's lots of parking. Don't worry.
Starting times
Full Marathon 6:00 am (Special 5am start for the Velocity Challenged for marathon only!)
Half Marathon 7:00 am
Marathon Relay 7:00 am
10K (1 Modified loop) 8:00 am
Post-Race Village
After completing your event, Post-Race Village will be open to come and pick up a prepackaged snack, water, Gatorade, and beverages provided by Archival Brewing. Secchia Meadows is blessed with tons of grassy space to spread out, recover and cheer on incoming runners
Packet Pickup
SATURDAY PACKET PICK UP - At Fulton Street Pub & Grill, 801 W. Fulton Street, from 2 pm - 6 pm.
RACE DAY - In the pavilion at the race site starting at 5:15 a.m. (We'll get you a bib if you're doing the 5am start. Just show up early enough.
LATE REGISTRATION - ONLINE ONLY - We will not have late registration available at the race site however you can register on your phone up till the start of the race.
We can’t thank you enough for your participation and look forward to seeing you at the starting line for a fun race day!
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Sun, Sep 13, 2026 at 7:00 AMSee full details
LATEST UPDATE FROM BAA FOR 2026 REGISTRATION AND 2027 QUALIFICATION WINDOW:
2026 BOSTON MARATHON REGISTRATION WEEK
Registration for the 2026 Boston Marathon presented by Bank of America will occur over five days, September 8 through 12, 2025. Similar to recent years, anyone who has achieved a currently valid Boston Marathon qualifying time for their respective age and gender can apply during this time within the B.A.A.’s online platform Athletes’ Village. Registration is not on a first-come, first-served basis, and applications will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. ET on Friday, September 12.
2027 BOSTON MARATHON QUALIFYING WINDOW
The B.A.A. has also announced that the 2027 Boston Marathon qualifying window will open on Saturday, September 13, 2025 – one day after Registration Week for the 2026 event closes. The qualifying window will remain open through 2027 Boston Marathon Registration Week in September 2026, with exact dates to be announced later.
WE'LL UPDATE THIS SECTION MORE AS THE BAA SETS THEIR DATES FOR FUTURE QUALIFICATION
For the 130th Boston Marathon, which is scheduled to take place on April 20, 2026, the qualifying period began on September 1, 2024. Registration details for that race will be announced following the 2025 Boston Marathon. Boston has changed their qualifying times for 2026.
You should only sign up for this race if you are going to be ready to qualify for Boston. To sign up before July 15 you'll need to run a "qualifying race" to sign up. Please check the table below.
Please note: Because of the nature of this course, we do not allow wheel chairs (Handcycle or push rim) in this race.
Last Chance BQ.2-Grand Rapids has become one of the premier and most nationally known, BQ events. The timing is perfect and we provide a venue that has proven to be one of the highest percentage qualifiers in the country, hovering around 60%.
This is a race we designed specifically to give you a shot at getting to Boston in 2026. Limited to 330 runners.
See our Qualifying times chart for qualifying times. THERE IS A 4:30 TIME LIMIT. (If you're chronogically gifted and your BQ time is longer than 4:30, we'll allow for that!)
This event is brought to you by the same team that puts on the University of Michigan Health-West Grand Rapids Marathon. As runners, we know how important Boston is to you, and we know what it takes to get there. We’ve been there ourselves, and we’ve helped THOUSANDS of runners get there in our 20 years with the UM Health-West Grand Rapids Marathon. In 2024 we’re here to help you get there with a race focused completely on getting you to Boston 2025.
Course: Last Chance BQ.2 - Grand Rapids occurs at Secchia Meadows in Millennium Park, one of the many Kent County Parks and what we think is the most scenic and beautiful. You will run on a wide and paved path that crosses a footbridge, winds along the Grand River, and cuts through meadows. Most of the course is heavily shaded.
Race Weekend: Packet pickup is at Fulton Street Pub & Grill from 4-7 Saturday. 801 West Fulton Street. Sunday at the race site starting at 6am.
The race site is at 1400 Maynard SW. Starting time is at 7am Sunday morning.
Bring your shoes. Recommended. But optional.
There are qualifying standards to get into this race. The reason we have qualifying standards is because WE WANT EVERYONE IN THIS RACE PREPARED TO QUALIFY FOR BOSTON! The table is below. AFTER June 15, WE'LL WAIVE THE QUALIFYING TIMES FOR THIS RACE. WE STILL EXPECT YOU TO BE TRAINED TO RUN A BOSTON QUALIFIER IF YOU'RE GOING TO ENTER. More on Boston Qualifying standards and info on their registration dates, CLICK
Contact us with question: [email protected], 616 293 3145
Our sister BQ.2 race is being held in Geneva, Illinois. It's under different management and on a different registration platform. Don't get confused. They also do a Spring Chance BQ.2 in the spring.
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Sun, Oct 18, 2026 at 8:00 AMSee full details
A Race Series Designed by Runners, for Runners
In 2021 we created the McKirdy Micro Marathon series to help athletes run a personal best and qualify for the Boston Marathon or beyond. At the time, we were just coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic where opportunities to run fast times were limited and motivation to continue training was difficult with no races on the calendar.
In 2023, we took the same concept and applied it at an elite level, hosting a race for athletes targeting the USATF Olympic Trials Qualifying Standard (OTQ) or the Olympic Standard. Many “on the cusp” athletes find they have limited options for races that are both fast and will provide the support they need to run their best.
Athletes from all over the world came to participate in a small localized race with the potential for massive impact. When the day was done:
48 athletes ran under the 2:18:00/2:37:00 OTQ Standard
More OTQs came from our race than any other race in 2023
Our race produced 2 Olympians
69% of the finishing athletes ran a personal best
85% of the finishing athletes ran their second fastest lifetime marathon
Moving forward, we are expanding the series to bring the McKirdy Micro race experience to athletes of all abilities over multiple distances! We hope you’ll come run your fastest marathon with us.
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Sat, Oct 31, 2026 at 8:30 AM
Run the Grand Rapids Hot Cider Hustle Half Marathon, 10K & 5K on Nov. 1st. All participants get an event shirt, hot cider, caramel apple and finishers mug.
Use #HotCiderHustle to share your photos!
Event times, dates, location and all other details are subject to change prior to event. All official information is on the event's website MichiganRuns.com.