In this edition of Sally’s Hotline, we hear from the legendary Garry Bjorklund, the first winner of Grandma’s Marathon in 1977, the namesake of the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon, and a Minnesota hometown hero whose name has appeared on thousands of race shirts.

Garry’s full story appears in Episode 50 of Unstoppable: Stories That Move, which is especially fitting for the 50th anniversary of Grandma’s Marathon in 2026. From his early running days in Twig, Minnesota, to his Olympic career, to his lasting connection with Grandma’s Marathon, Garry has lived through plenty of starts, stops, challenges, and comebacks.

Rather than offering complicated advice, Garry shares a simple but powerful lesson: keep your optimism as you work toward the challenge. Whether you accomplish the goal on your first try, your fifth try, or your hundredth try, optimism gives you a reason to keep going.

This short but meaningful tip episode is a reminder that progress does not always happen on your preferred timeline. Sometimes you get it right the first time. Sometimes you have to sand it down, prime it, wait a year, and try again. But if you stay optimistic and keep after it, you can still build something beautiful.

In This Episode, You’ll Hear:

• Why Garry believes optimism is essential when facing a challenge
• How running taught him to recover from both the highest highs and lowest lows
• Why optimism is something you practice, not something that always comes naturally
• How a frustrating deck-painting project became a lesson in patience, preparation, and trying again
• Why some goals happen quickly while others may take years
• How Sally’s experience at the Grandma’s Marathon Expo reinforced Gary’s message about staying optimistic

Key Takeaways:

• Keep your optimism as you work toward the challenge.
• You may not accomplish the goal on your first try, but that does not mean you stop trying.
• Optimism is a practice. You can train it the same way you train your body.
• Preparation matters. Sometimes the second attempt works because you learned what needed to happen first.
• Any progress is still progress, even if it is slower than you hoped.
• Stay optimistic, keep after it, and keep moving forward.

If you want to hear Garry’s full story, including his roots in Twig, Minnesota, his Olympic journey, his connection to Grandma’s Marathon, and the story behind the half marathon named in his honor, listen to Episode 50 of Unstoppable: Stories That Move.

To hear how Grandma’s Marathon got started and became an elite race with small-town charm, listen to Episodes 48 and 49 with Scott Keenan, the founder of Grandma’s Marathon. You can also enter the drawing to win Scott’s book, My Journey to Grandma’s Marathon: History and Heroes, at unstoppablestoriesthatmove.com through August 31, 2026.

Support the Mission:

Unstoppable: Stories That Move is a podcast with a purpose to raise $1 million for medical research to help fund cures for cancer and other diseases.

Donate today at unstoppablestoriesthatmove.com or mail a check to: PO Box 12, Afton, MN 55001, USA

Together, we can save lives.

Garry Bjorklund is a Minnesota hometown hero, collegiate All-American, Olympian, Grandma’s Marathon champion, and the namesake of the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon. But before his name was printed on thousands of race shirts, Garry was a kid from Twig, Minnesota, running gravel roads, racing his mom to the mailbox, and learning that running was about much more than winning.

In this episode, host Sally Hed Dahlquist sits down with Garry ahead of the 50th anniversary of Grandma’s Marathon to talk about his roots, his running career, the people who shaped him, and the lasting spirit of the race that still brings him back to Duluth. From a serious foot injury that threatened his future, to the heartbreak of the 1980 Olympic boycott, to the joy of seeing everyday runners cross the finish line, Garry’s story is full of humility, perspective, and deep love for the running community.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• How Garry first fell in love with running on the roads and trails of Twig, Minnesota
• Why he says “the race begins at halfway”
• The coaches, teammates, neighbors, and friends who shaped his life
• How Garry went from not knowing what a college scholarship was to running for the University of Minnesota
• The impact of legendary coach Roy Griak and teammate Eugene Daly
• What Garry learned from competitors like Steve Prefontaine and runners of every level
• Why he sees running as a family, not a lonely individual sport
• How Grandma’s Marathon became part of Garry’s life and legacy
• Why the finish line matters just as much for everyday runners as it does for elites
• The funny story of the runner who insisted Garry Bjorklund was not Garry Bjorklund
• Garry’s love story with Rhonda, the courage it took to call her, and the “karma” of his Olympic bib number

Whether you’re chasing a personal record, running your first half marathon, cheering from the sidelines, or simply trying to keep moving forward in your own life, Garry’s story is a reminder that running is never just about speed. It’s about friendship, humility, kindness, courage, and the people who help us become who we are.

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Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who loves running, Grandma’s Marathon, or a story about ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

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unstoppablestoriesthatmove.com

In this edition of Sally’s Hotline, we hear from the unstoppable Scott Keenan, runner, organizer, author, community leader, and the original founder and race director of Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota. As Grandma’s Marathon celebrates its 50th anniversary, Scott reflects on one of the simplest but most powerful lessons he carried through his years of coaching, race directing, and building a world-class event: stay positive.

Rather than offering complicated advice, Scott shares the same word he gave his East High School runners every day for six years: positivity. Whether you are facing a bad run, a difficult race, a hard season, or a setback in life, Scott’s message is clear. Shake it off, look for something good, and keep moving forward.

This short but powerful tip episode is a reminder that positivity is not about pretending everything is easy. It is about choosing hope, refusing to get pulled under by negativity, and believing that you can still get through what is in front of you.

In This Episode, You’ll Hear:

• Why Scott’s word of the day was the same for six years
• How positivity helped him coach young runners through bad races and hard days
• Why negativity can pull you down faster if you let it take over
• How looking for something simple and good, like a bird in the sky, can shift your perspective
• Why positivity and hope go hand in hand

Key Takeaways:

• Stay positive, even when the run or the day does not go your way.
• A bad race does not define you. Shake it off and keep going.
• Negativity makes hard things heavier. Positivity helps you move through them.
• Hope matters. Things can get better when you keep moving forward.
• Sometimes the best advice is simple: full steam ahead, damn the torpedoes.

If you want to hear Scott’s full story, including how he founded Grandma’s Marathon in 1977, built it into a world-class race with small-town charm, and helped shape one of Minnesota’s most beloved running traditions, listen to Episode 48 of Unstoppable: Stories That Move.

You can also read Scott’s book, My Journey to Grandma’s Marathon: History and Heroes.

Support the Mission:

Unstoppable: Stories That Move is a podcast with a purpose to raise money for medical research to help fund cures for cancer and other diseases. Your support helps move that mission forward.

Donate today at unstoppablestoriesthatmove.com or mail a check to: PO Box 12, Afton, MN 55001, USA

Together, we can save lives.