Galena 5k Stair Challenge
About this race
Join us in beautiful, historic Galena IL for The Galena 5K Stair Challenge! Now hosted by The Galena Area EMS District, The Galena Police Department and The Galena Fire Department
This event honors the heroes of 9/11 on the 25th anniversary of this tragic event and celebrates our local first responders past and present
Bring the family! The Galena Generals, Jo Daviess County Mounted Patrol, Area First Responder demonstrations, food and treat vendors will join us at Green Street Plaza during and after the event.
Non competitive run/walk/climb-1Lap
Competitive 7 Lap professionally timed with various divisions by age and gender.
Registration for this event is online only!
1-Lap Fun Run/Walk
- Start time 9:00 a.m.
- Fee: NEW! April Early Bird $30, May $35, June and July $40, August to event $40 (t-shirt and medal included!)
- Race Day in person registration closes at 9:00 am
- Mass start; not timed
5K 7-Lap Stair Challenge Race and Active Duty First Responders
- Start time 9:15 a.m.
- Fee: NEW! April Early Bird $30 for Active First Responders and 7-Lap Runners (includes T-shirt and medal!)
- May $35, for Active First Responders and 7-Lap Runners
- June to Event $45 for 7-Lap Runners
- Race Day in person registration closes at 9:00 am
- Maximum of 200 athletes accepted
- Chip timing
Waves will be formed (first five registered, first wave; next five registered, second wave, etc.). Waves will start every minute. Participants will be notified of their wave start time via email prior to the race date.
Course closes at 12:00 noon
Fundraiser Challenge
All participants are encouraged to raise at least $50 in donations to support Galena-based first responders.
Share your unique URL to family and friends and invite them to donate to your registration or team.
The top three individual fundraisers will receive special prizes!
Event T-shirt Sizes (performance fabric)
Youth: small, medium, large
Adult: small, medium, large, extra-large, 1X, 2X
Age Groups (Male and Female)
14 and under, 15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70+
Race Registration will be online only beginning March 20, 2026
Maximum of 200 timed participants (no limit to fun run/walk participants)
Registrations will CLOSE when race filled or at midnight on September 11, whichever comes first
Registrations after August 31, 2026 will NOT be guaranteed a T-shirt
Event Staging Areas:
Green Street Plaza near City Hall and Post Office/Custom House
Packet pickup:
NEW! Friday, September 11, 2026 from 4pm to 7pm at the Galena Area Emergency Medical Services District Station, 217 Summit Street, Galena, Illinois.
Saturday morning Green Street Plaza and the Post Office/Custom House from 8:00 am to 9:00 a.m.
- 8:15 a.m. Saturday: Opening Ceremony
- Closing and Medal Ceremony following race at Green Street Square
- Award Ceremony at race conclusion
Starting Line at Bench Street staging area
Volunteers will queue waves here in numerical order after escorting them from Green Street Plaza
Lap Notification/Finish Line on Bench Street
Bib numbers will trigger a visual record of each participant’s lap number.
Lap 7 finishers recovery area with water
Pick your distance
Running
5K 7-Lap Stair Challenge Race
5K-7Lap Stair Climbers will receive a t-shirt and medal if registered prior to 08/30/2026!
5K Stair Challenge Active Duty First Responders
All 5K Stair Challenge Active Duty First Responders Stair Climbers will receive a t-shirt and medal is registered prior to 08/30/2026!
Typical race-day weather
Based on 7 years of Open-Meteo archive data for this event's race dates in Galena, plus the 3 days either side.
The sun rises at 6:38 AM and sets at 7:17 PM local time (CDT) in Galena on September 12, 2026 — 12h 38m of daylight.
Course
No course map published yet.
The organizer hasn't released a route for this event, and we don't publish guesses. If you're the organizer, send us a GPX file and we'll draw the profile.
Reviews
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2026 results — Galena 5k Stair Challenge
5K 7-Lap Stair Challenge Race · 97 finishers
| Place | Name | Time | Pace |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cory Hensley | 26:58 | 8:41 /mi |
| 2 | AJ Kallback | 28:09 | 9:04 /mi |
| 3 | Steve Olenchek | 28:12 | 9:05 /mi |
| 4 | Ashley Donovan | 29:13 | 9:24 /mi |
| 5 | Conner Einsweiler | 30:10 | 9:43 /mi |
Every finisher is on the results page, filterable by distance, gender and age group.
All results by year
Other races near Galena
Different organizers, within 40 miles, in the next three months
Galena River Fall Half Marathon & 8k
Mines of Spain 100
Blue Bowling 4 Boobs-Dubuque
Turkey Trot at Wahlert High School
🏃 Plan Your Next Race in Galena
Find upcoming events by distance:
- Galena Running Calendar 2026 2 races
Where this page comes from. Race details were last updated on . We re-check listings regularly and again in the week before race day.
- Entries, prices, waves and inclusions — the event's official registration page
- Temperature and humidity — Copernicus ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0)
- Elevation and terrain relief — Copernicus DEM GLO-90, ESA (CC BY 4.0)
- Comparisons and counts — Race Discovery calendar, 3 Galena events
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