49. Sally's Hotline: Positivity is the Word of the Day with Scott Keenan

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 yearsHow positivity helped him coach young runners through bad races and hard daysWhy negativity can pull you down faster if you let it take overHow looking for something simple and good, like a bird in the sky, can shift your perspectiveWhy positivity and hope go hand in handKey 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, USATogether, we can save lives.