Fochville’s ultra-marathon star shines at Longmore Forest Trail Run and extends record
Cornel excelled over long distances while most other residents were relaxing over the festive season.

Fochville’s ultra-marathon running star, Cornel Metcalfe, again excelled over the festive season.
She finished 2024 on a high note when she competed in her eighth 100-mile race over the weekend before Christmas. It was her fourth run of the Longmore Forest Endurance Trail Run and the second on the new route. The event took place in the area of Gqeberha, formerly known as Port Elizabeth.
Cornel was one of 30 eager trail runners who lined up at the start on December 20 at 18:00. Although her husband Mark says that Cornel took it easy from the start and through the first night, she was 17th overall and the sixth woman by sunrise, with the two highest peaks of the race ahead.
As the new day got underway, Cornel started to make her way through the pack and as she summitted the longest and highest peak at 105km around 13:00 on December 21, she was already eighth overall and the fourth female runner.
As the sun began to set on the runners’ second night Cornel settled into her usual nighttime pace and managed to the finish line. She finished in the early morning hours of December 22 in sixth position overall, and third woman in a time of 30 hours and 15 minutes. Only 25 of the 30 runners crossed the finish line by Sunday morning at 10:00.
Meanwhile, Cornel would have been the only woman to complete the annual AMUK 4*100 Mile Trail Challenge twice, but on the final event at the Karkloof Trail Run situated in KwaZulu-Natal, the weather gods had the final say. The Karkloof race started amidst the falling snow, but the runners were stopped and evacuated from the route at the 36km mark for safety reasons.
2024 was also the last running of the official AMUK Challenge. There were three runners in contention for this annual award and all three had entered the Longmore Trail Run, so the organisers conspired together to recognise the efforts of the trio. The challenge was renamed the MULA challenge, removing the “K” for Karkloof and adding the “L” for Longmore and each of the three runners received their accolade at the Longmore.
To date, Cornel has now completed a total of 45 100-miler races and remains the top woman in South Africa to complete the most. She has completed five road races, 18 trail races and 22 circuit races. To top it off, Cornel has stood on the women’s podium 37 times. She has also won 23 overall podium positions.