Long-Time Sugar House Family to Race at Disneyland

By Natalie Mollinet | [email protected]

Sugar House - “Second star to the right and straight on till morning” is what the Roos family in Sugar House is gearing up to do. Kathy Roos and her husband have been training to run and walk the Never Land Family Fun Run 5K at Disneyland, and two of their daughters, Emma Lawrence and Kati Quinn, are training up to run the Tinkerbell Half Marathon that runs through parts of Anaheim and Disneyland come May 6 and May 9. 

This will be a first race for all of them except Kati, who has done races in the past, and they are all very excited and nervous for the race. 

The idea to do a race in California instead of Utah came from a love of Disney of course, and now is a good time to do it because the park is celebrating its 60th anniversary. 

“We had been talking about going to Disneyland for the 60th anniversary,” Emma said, “but hadn’t scheduled anything. My sisters and I were signed up to run another half in October in SF when the sign-ups opened for this, and I got a text message saying that we should do it. So, we all decided, why not go to Disneyland?”

The Disneyland races give you the option to run a full marathon, half marathon, 10K or a 5K, and all the races will have some kind of route through Disneyland. 

The Roos family actually has been training since January, through a program Disney has to help you get ready in 21 weeks. Kathy used an app called “Couch to 5K” and does her best to be as active as possible, even parking her car further away.

Emma has been running quite a bit and even with a baby, she is still able to get her runs in around Sugar House Park, a hot stop for runners in the neighborhood. 

“I live right across the street from Sugar House Park, so on the weekdays it’s easy for me to run around the park,” Emma said. “Saturday runs vary in length, so I’ll either tour the neighborhood, or go toward the canyon and run home. It’s been difficult for me this time around to train because it’s winter though. With the cold weather and the bad air, I can’t always run outside, so I have to take to the treadmill which is so boring. It’s much easier to be motivated to do something when it’s nice outside.”

This will be Kathy’s first ever race and something she has worked up to. Kathy has lost over 100 pounds from dieting and exercise. She promises herself that she’ll walk 10,000 steps a day and has stuck to a diet that has helped her, cutting out some carbs and eating leaner and healthier. 

“There is no way I would have been able to run a 5K before my weight loss,” Kathy said. “I could not even walk up a flight of stairs without losing my breath. I have lost a little bit of weight and I feel so good that I never want to put it back on. I want to be healthy and strong so I can hang out with my grandkids.” 

With the weight off, Kathy is ready to make the run with her husband and daughters, even though it was her daughter’s idea. 

“My daughters all run and convinced me that I should too,” Kathy said, “so why not start in Disneyland and make it fun?” 

Kathy does admit this race is a bit of an excuse to go to Disneyland, but it really is something to mark off her bucket list.

“I want to feel the accomplishment of finishing,” Kathy said. 

When the race is all finished and they’re done toweling off, the family is planning on hitting up the happiest place on earth. Emma plans to reward herself with one of Disney’s amazing churros and a diet coke. Kathy wants to just have fun at Disneyland with her family and confesses she might get herself a frozen chocolate banana, but she knows there’s something even more rewarding. 

“The gratification of knowing I have accomplished a bucket list item,” Kathy said. “Having fun at Disneyland and being with my family.”