Eugene Curnow was a fixture in the northern Minnesota-Duluth running scene for decades. Eugene found running later in life and embraced it. He not only became an accomplished runner, but he became a leader and an ambassador for the sport.

Gene was the first person to achieve five Superior 100 race finishes and also the first to hit 10 Superior 100 finishes (he remains one of only three people who have run 10 or more). Along with his own personal achievements as a runner, Gene was always there to give back to the sport that he loved. He and his wife, Barb, tirelessly worked together over more than 20 years to put on the Minnesota Voyageur Trail Ultra (one of the longest-running 50-mile races in the country) and founded the Half Voyageur Trail Marathon (renamed the Eugene Curnow Trail Marathon in 2013 in his honor). Their contributions to the sport are clearly visible today in our local running community, and his spirit will surely be kept alive by the multitude of Gene's trail disciples involved in Minnesota trail and ultrarunning. A few runners are chasing 10 Superior 100 finishes, but Gene will forever be the first to achieve this impressive milestone while always making time for others in our local running community. Gene died in 2013 after a brave struggle with cancer.

— John Storkamp, current race director