The men's marathon at the 2010 European Athletics Championships was held on the streets of Barcelona on 1 August.
[1] Of those, 20 were identified as contenders for medal positions, with Switzerland's Viktor Röthlin and Spain's José Ríos among the favourites.
José Manuel Martínez, another Spaniard, was the leading European in the previous year's World Championships marathon where he finished eighth.
[6] Second place was home runner Martínez, who said he could not compete with Röthlin's pace so instead decided to hold a steady rhythm and not get involved in any counter-attacks.
He also made light of the warm weather, saying it was cool compared to the 2007 World Championships marathon in Osaka, Japan.