FEATURE
“ I thought,‘ this is intense, but flip I am sure this will be great for fitness, I should do this more and go further’.”
Skipping became part of her gym routine. But, well, it was incredibly boring. She found her attention waning until one day she wondered whether she could run and skip at the same time. To find out she headed to a secluded street in her neighborhood in Hillcrest, making sure no-one she knew would see her, and did her first km with a skipping rope. How did it go?“ I nearly coughed up a lung because it was so hard,” she laughs.
The experience didn’ t put her off. Instead she was intrigued.“ I thought,‘ this is intense, but flip I am sure this will be great for fitness, I should do this more and go further’.” so she did, working from 1km to 3km, then 5km, then 7km. At that point, she figured 10km might be within her reach— and it was. That’ s when she decided to do something really special with her unusual newfound talent and set her sights on running the Comrades with her skipping rope. How’ s that for the ultimate human challenge?!?
All runners hit a dark patch during an event like Comrades, encountering a stretch that seems to take a little more out of you and leaves you questioning whether you can keep on going. What does Marissa plan to do when those tough times hit?
“ I tell myself that, with every little step I take, I am doing it for a cause. That even if it’ s metaphorically or hypothetically, in my mind, I’ m literally saving a life with every step that I take. That’ s quite a thing to hold onto, because I feel like I can’ t fail. I need to push
through all of this, of all the people here( I tell myself) you have to finish this. No matter if you crawl over that finish line, this is going to be significant, and you need to make sure that you make a difference.”
You can support Marissa on her journey by donating to her BackaBuddy account by clicking the donate button below- remember, every cent counts.
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