Eagle Mountain resident tries for a mile of motivation
May 22, 2025, 4:00 PM | Updated: May 23, 2025, 5:40 pm
J. Benjamin Lyne, aka @runnerguywithasign. (@runnerguywithasign)
(@runnerguywithasign)
SALT LAKE CITY — An Eagle Mountain resident, known as @runnerguywithasign, along with a lot of friends, attempted to set a record on Thursday.
For several years, Ben Lyne has been known as @runnerguywithasign after he began running around town carrying a sign that reads, “I Believe in You.”
On Thursday, he asked friends and neighbors to create their own motivational signs and join him in an attempt to set a record for 1 mile of people holding uplifting messages.
@runnerguywithasign’s origin story
Lyne started running with his “I Believe in You” sign around the time that the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns were lifting. However, the idea had been brewing for years.
“I (would) get kind of the inspiration, ‘Oh, I should do that.’ And then get home and go about my day,” Lyne said, but doubt would always creep in.
“I think it was a combination of how it was feeling in general, just with COVID,” Lyne said. “We were coming out of COVID and lockdowns and all the political fighting … then I went out for a run and about a mile into (the) run I got the inspiration again.”
He made the sign, set a date and went on a run.
“I went out and I did it and it was one of the most fun things I’ve ever done,” Lyne said. “I got so excited I would just hold it above my head as I would see people … I kept doing that for a couple of weeks and then people started to post about it in local Facebook groups.”
Mission: Positive vibes
According to Lyne, his goal is to combat some of the negativity in the world with positivity.
“There’s so much negativity out there, (I) just wanted to start fighting back with positivity,” he said. “Negativity seems like it’s so much more powerful. Say one bad thing to somebody or the wrong thing, (and) you can really tear down a lot of good.”
He hopes his example will motivate others.
“I want people to listen to that voice if they have a good (thought) to do something … go out and take action and see the awesome things that can happen from there.”
Motivation mile
On Thursday, Lyne invited people to help spread positivity with a mile of motivation community event held on a trail between Cedar Valley High School and Frontier Middle School.
“We have a middle school and a high school that are about a mile apart and there’s a big, long sidewalk in between and there is the park,” he said.
Lyne wanted to create a mile-long chain of people holding uplifting messages between schools, aiming for a world record. He hopes to make it an annual tradition, inspiring participants to beat each year’s achievement.
“A mile-long chain of positivity,” he said. “I don’t think it’s ever been done.”
He hoped people’s signs would carry a positive motivational message that would resonate. Even if people showed up to the event without a sign, he said, they’ll have the materials for people to make a sign there.
Lyne worried they would not have enough people, but also worried they would have too many. Over 1,200 people ended up showing up and joining the mile and holding signs.
Related: Here’s how a school district is helping students prepare for their career
