"It was very tough out there. The guys are very fit," said Mokoka, who came home in 61min27.
"I never expected so many to be with us at 15km. It was a struggle but my training had been going very well."More than 40 runners, driven primarily by the experienced Hendrick Ramaala, kept the rhythmical pace just under three minutes per kilometre.
Although there was a gradual reduction in numbers, little changed as the leaders clipped off the kilometres, hitting 5km in 14:26 and 10km 29:30.