Guillaume de Rémacle has built a life around curiosity, connection, and wild places. A polar guide, author, expedition designer, and lifelong animal lover, Guillaume has spent years working in Antarctica, teaching travelers about penguins, seabirds, krill, and the fragile ecosystems that hold the planet together.

In this episode, host Sally Hed Dahlquist talks with Guillaume about his unlikely path from international business studies to polar guiding, his work at Port Lockroy in Antarctica, the children’s book he wrote to help people understand Antarctic wildlife, and his new work designing conservation-focused expeditions.

From counting penguins and handling 92,000 postcards at the Antarctic “mailbox,” to building trips around chimpanzees, gorillas, Bengal tigers, red pandas, and local communities, Guillaume’s story is a reminder that curiosity can become a calling, and that connecting people to nature can change how we see the world.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• How Guillaume began his Antarctic journey at Port Lockroy, the famous post office and museum in Antarctica
• What it was like to count penguin nests, eggs, and chicks as part of a long-term wildlife survey
• How he became a polar ornithologist after starting with a background in international business
• Why krill are essential to the Antarctic ecosystem, and how krill poop helps store carbon at the bottom of the ocean
• How his children’s book helps travelers, families, and students better understand Antarctica
• Why he believes education is key to protecting the next generation of ecosystems
• How Arctic Tern Expeditions is building trips around animal conservation, cultural immersion, and local connection
• Why Guillaume designs travel experiences that go deeper than sightseeing
• The importance of meeting local people, sharing meals, and learning directly from the communities who live alongside wildlife
• How travel can reduce fear, expand empathy, and remind us that people around the world are easier to love than we think
• Why curiosity, positivity, and self-trust have shaped Guillaume’s life and work
• The story of Guillaume and Karine getting married in Antarctica — complete with a penguin passing through the wedding photo

Whether you dream of Antarctica, love wildlife, care about conservation, or simply want to live with more curiosity and courage, Guillaume’s story is an invitation to look beyond fear, stay open to the world, and remember that there are more solutions than problems.

Buy Gui's book: Destination Antarctica: The Frozen Continent Bursting with Life (A Graphic Novel)

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Support Sally’s mission to raise $1 million for medical research:
unstoppablestoriesthatmove.com

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.

Inspired?
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.

Support the mission to raise $1 million for medical research:
unstoppablestoriesthatmove.com