Runner Marissa Groenewald is aiming to 'rope run' Comrades and bring hope

The 'rope runner' has made history by completing the Two Oceans marathon and has set her sights on the ultimate human race next. By Yanga Sibembe

- By Yanga Sibembe

Both running and skipping a rope are arduous forms of exercise and each has its own set of demands, physically and mentally. One South African woman has combined the two to conceptualise a whole new sport.

Marissa Groenewald (41) recently competed in the Two Oceans Marathon, completing the road race in just under seven hours. Finishing a 56km ultramarathon is commendable on its own, but she accomplished it with a skipping rope, setting a distance record in the process.

Groenewald described her unusual Two Oceans race as a "wonderful experience" and expressed her gratitude for all the spectators and fellow runners who helped propel her over the finishing line. It was her second Two Oceans, but her first with a skipping rope in hand.

"The overall experience was so positive and enjoyable. I was ecstatic when I crossed the finishing line, overcome with emotion, because it was a massive thing to have been accomplished," she told Daily Maverick.

Accidental start

Groenewald stumbled upon rope running, as she has termed it, a little over a year ago while she was recovering from an injury.

"I'm a road runner and a trail runner. With all the running, I had a hip injury and I heard that skipping is good for recovery," said Groenewald, who lives in Durban.

"So last year in January, I started skipping in the gym and it got boring pretty quickly. And I thought, let me do something more interesting.

"Let me try to run with a skipping rope in the gym.