October 26, 2022
“Now I can run and train according to how I feel,” John Curley says about his impressive improvement in running. The Duluth pharmacist had battled injuries and was squeezed for time while completing a rigorous school schedule, juggling jobs, and being active in academic and agricultural organizations. John admits his 5:43 per mile marathon pace for a time of 2:30:21 in this year’s Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon surprised him—especially when he ran an 8K race as a redshirt freshman at North Dakota State University (NDSU) at a 5:47 pace.
Born in 1993, John is the youngest of three children of Michael, a veterinarian, and Susan, a teacher, Curley. He grew up on a hobby sheep farm in Windom, a town of 4,500 people and the county seat of Cottonwood County, in southwestern Minnesota. His older brother, Tom, was a distance runner, and his older sister, Bridget, was a cross country runner and hurdler in track, so John followed his siblings into running. John began running in youth Hershey track meets and joined the Windom Area High School cross country and track teams. In the summers, Jay Grandprey, a runner in the area, invited John to run road races at sometimes distant towns.
In smaller school districts, students are often active in multiple activities to fill rosters and maintain organizations. John is certainly a prime example; he was in choir, speech, FFA, Knowledge Bowl, band, and 4-H—showing Suffolk sheep in competition—in addition to sports. “I enjoyed high school running,” says John, “but we only ran twenty to twenty-five miles per week in cross country. Success in the summer road races motivated me.”
A four-year letterwinner, John did qualify for the 2010 Class A state cross country meet and finished 92nd. It was a strong field: the winner was future steeplechase Olympian Mason Ferlic of Mounds Park Academy with future University of Minnesota runners Matt Jergensen of Caledonia, Charlie Lawrence of Foley, Troy Kovisto of Dassel-Cokato, and Shane Streich of Waseca among the leaders. In track, the 6’ 3” athlete was a surprise 1600-meter qualifier his senior year in a region dominated by Worthington runners led by Mubarik Musa, a state cross country and track champion. Dramatically improving his time at the distance, John placed 12th in the 2011 state meet—again won by Ferlic—crossing the finish line in 4:32.5.
Deciding to follow his siblings to NDSU for its pharmacy program and the invitation to walk-on the cross country and track teams, John ran as redshirt freshman and remembers the 5:47 per mile pace as a bit of an embarrassment. “Running was one of my many priorities as I was part of a handful of organizations, working jobs, and enrolled in a doctorate program.” The huge increase in mileage took a toll on his body and he would miss two seasons of track. He did finish 30th in the Summit League Championships in 2015 and is proud of winning the indoors Dakota Classic mile in a time of 4:17.52. Continuing to be active in pharmacy clubs, John was nominated for the 2015 NDSU Homecoming Court and named a 2016 Bison Most Valuable Scholar.
Graduating with a degree in pharmaceutical science in 2015, John completed his doctorate the next year and started mountain biking as he recovered from a heel injury. Following a one-year residency at Essentia Health in Duluth, Minnesota, John accepted a position as a pharmacist at St. Mary’s Medical Center in the port city. John became a volunteer cross country and track assistant at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) in 2018 and cites coaching medical student David Supinksi (Brainerd), the conference champion in the 600-meter run who set a school record in the event, as a highlight.
John’s first big post-collegiate race was the 2019 Grandma’s Half-Marathon in Duluth, finishing 77th with a time of 1:13:55. The result was encouraging and spurred him on. John ran a memorable Grandma’s Marathon with former NDSU teammate Camron Roehl, having lots of local support, in a time of 2:31:48. It caused him to say, “It was a pretty big surprise to myself. I was pretty pumped for another one.” Training with graduated UMD runner Kendall Hill (who finished 29th) and running with Windom friend Jeff Stuckenbroker (who placed 19th), John shaved his marathon time to 2:30:21 at the Medtronic TC Marathon this fall. He has also run three half-marathons during an ambitious 2022 running schedule.
John is married to Emily Andersen of Duluth who is attending school to be a nurse practitioner. “Running gives everyone an outlet and a continuous way to improve. It’s a mental release and opportunity to enjoy the weather and seasons and camaraderie,” John says of the sport.
The Windom native is living proof of continuous improvement.
John Curley of Windom Area High School qualified for the 2010 Minnesota State High School League Championships
John Curley with Windom friend Jeff Stuckenbroker after he finished 11th in the 2022 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon
John Curley with his spouse, Emily Andersen of Duluth
John Curley ran collegiately for the North Dakota State University Bison from 2011-16.
Minnesota Athletes 