You’ll follow a gentle, out-and-back run along the trails that wind alongside the Galena River and the Mississippi River here in the northwest corner of the state at the Galena River Fall Half Marathon, which is set to start and finish inside Depot Park, right alongside the river.
Historic place. Home to just shy of 3,500 people, Galena was once a bustling city of some 10,000 people back in the early 1800s, when the area was famous for its galena, the native American name for the mineral that was mined here for more than a thousand years.
Fast-forward to today and the town now is better known for its historic 19th-century architecture and for being the home of Ulysses S. Grant, the famed Civil War general and the 18th president of the United States.
Just a stone’s throw from where the race starts, you can visit the home where he lived with his family in the years leading up to the Civil War, as well as Horseshoe Mound, a hill just outside Galena where you can see three states.
