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 challengeHow running taught him to recover from both the highest highs and lowest lowsWhy optimism is something you practice, not something that always comes naturallyHow a frustrating deck-painting project became a lesson in patience, preparation, and trying againWhy some goals happen quickly while others may take yearsHow Sally’s experience at the Grandma’s Marathon Expo reinforced Gary’s message about staying optimisticKey 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.
