At 41, Marissa Groenewald is not just a wife, mother of two, an entrepreneur or a marathon runner, she’s a woman who is rewriting what’s possible – one skip at a time.
Most people run. Many people skip. But only a rare few combine the two. Marissa Groenewald, better known as The Rope Runner on social media, is one of them. An endurance athlete who has taken this unexpected pairing to new heights and her mission is deeply personal.
“I rope and I run, it just kind of rolls off the tongue,” she laughs, explaining how the name ‘The Rope Runner’ was born. But this isn’t just about catchy names or breaking records, it’s about raising awareness to combat human trafficking – a crisis that hits heartbreakingly close to home.
Marissa’s awareness of human trafficking began during visits to Myanmar, where her parents lived for nearly a decade. Her mother worked with Eden Ministries and helped to restore the lives of women rescued from trafficking.
“It hit home a lot,” she recalls. “Seeing the difference in the women’s faces, from the trauma in their rescue photos to the light in their eyes as they learned new skills, was life changing. I realised for the first time that human trafficking was a real issue, happening right under our noses.”
With her parents back in South Africa – ranked fourth in the world for human trafficking – Marissa partnered with the local base of Love Justice, an international organisation that intervenes before victims are trafficked.
“They focus on transit monitoring and intercept before innocent victims cross borders and disappear,” she explains. Her goal for 2025 is to raise R500 000 to help save 200 victims, through speaking engagements at schools, online fundraising and Marissa hopes to successfully rope run the Comrades.
“To achieve this would be massive and it is not just for me. It would show the world that the impossible is possible and hopefully bring attention to the cause I care so deeply about.”
Marissa’s rope-running journey started during the pandemic. “Road running was my escape from the chaos of Covid and parenting full-time,” she says. But when an injury sidelined her, she turned to skipping to maintain fitness.
“I started skipping at my gym while recovering, but being a creature of variety, the monotony got to me and so I thought why not run while skipping?”
What started as curiosity soon saw a few metres became a few kilometres. Now she is running marathons and ultramarathons with a rope in hand.
Her training is rigorous – strength work, cycling, core and skipping endurance sessions. “I’m at gym at least four times a week as running while skipping is both physically gruelling and mentally brutal,” she says.
During the Two Oceans Marathon, already a legendary challenge for runners, Marissa fought through bronchitis, exhaustion and the infamous Constantia Hill, but the cheers from strangers and sideline supporters carried her forward.
“I never understood the phrase ‘pain cave’ until I started rope running,” she says. “You hit a wall where your body screams to stop. You’re faced with not just extreme fatigue but also the physical struggle, and you have to choose what to focus on. But I always come back to my ‘why’ – to protect lives from human trafficking one skip at a time.”
An Oceans moment that stuck with her was when a guy shouted, ‘Can you do a double under?’ at the 30km mark, and she did it! “It reminded me to keep going, to be visible and to own this platform.”
Her rope also plays a part in her emotional journey. “If my rope could talk after a marathon,” she says with a grin, “it would say: We made it. We kept skipping. And we changed lives doing it.”
Having also completed brutal races like the Balwin Sport Peninsula Marathon, battling stomach cramps, gale-force winds and an undiagnosed viral infection, Marissa believes that if she could finish that race, she can do anything
Still, she’s honest about the Comrades challenge – nearly 90 kilometres with up to 23 000 runners. “I’m not there in my mind yet. It’s like eating half the elephant in one sitting. Your body can do a lot, but it’s your mind you have to conquer.”
Covering such long distances, she burns through ropes quickly, with each lasting just 20 to 30 kilometres. “I’ve gone through more than 30 ropes in six months,” she says.
To keep up, she started making her own from 1.5mm plastic-sleeved cables and old handles. Now she custom-builds them, carries extras in her hydration pack so she can swap ropes mid-race – sometimes with bloodied legs from frayed wires, and still, she keeps moving.
For Marissa, rope running is more than a sport – it’s a path back to herself. “I’ve rediscovered who Marissa is,” she says. “I’ve realised that anything is possible. Age doesn’t define when you can start making a difference.”
With lots of support from her family, and her community who has rallied around her, every donation, every cheer, every skipped step brings her closer to her goal and dream.
“To be the first to rope run the Comrades would be huge,” she says. “But I’m just the front-runner. Everyone who shares, donates or raises awareness against human trafficking – they’re part of this victory too.”
Her message is clear: “Discipline will take you places motivation can’t.” And to anyone doubting themselves? “Never let the noise of the outside world steal the seeds planted within you. Learn to water those dreams.”
Whether it’s a race-day prayer, a cheeky mid-marathon double under, or her daily dose of biltong and chocolate, Marissa runs with heart – and purpose.
Details: To support Marissa’s mission to fight human trafficking, visit her BackaBuddy page: The Rope Runner’s Race for Humanity or e-mail her at marissa@hedral.co.za.
You can also follow her on Instagram: @theroperunner
Photos: Tantalising Twins Content Creators, Amy 082 494 8887, Meg 082 494 8888, tantalisingtwins@gmail.com
