The dominance of the competition by Kenyan and East African runners was accompanied by a decline in the number of European teams that were entered for the tournament, with some historically strong countries sending no athletes at all.

Renowned Polish athletes were invited and Artur Kohutek and Marika Popowicz were among those who took to the course to compete alongside professional and amateur runners alike.

[6] The Polish Cross Country Championships were held at the venue, acting as a pre-championship tester for the Myślęcinek Park course two weeks prior to the main event.

Ethiopia entered a strong team, including Dibaba, 2003 champion Werknesh Kidane and multiple past medallist Meselech Melkamu.

The United States and Portugal had entered strong women's teams, led by national champions Shalane Flanagan and Ana Dulce Félix respectively, which were given good medalling possibilities.

This aspect came under criticism from Jason Henderson of Athletics Weekly, who commented that the course "seems to be some kind of children’s play park, runners also have to run past a bizarre-looking wooden crocodile.

"[11] A mix of unseasonably warm weather, followed by a cold, overcast day prior to the championships, suggested the event would be held in less than ideal conditions.

[13] As the race drew to a close, Ebuya pulled away from Medhin to beat the Eritrean by six seconds, becoming the first Kenyan senior men's champion since Paul Tergat in 1999.

Tsegay and Hasan Mahboob took fifth and sixth places and a Kenyan trio of Richard Kipkemboi Mateelong, Paul Tanui, and Hosea Mwok Macharinyang ensured that Kenya took the team gold as well.

Chakir Boujattaoui (in 12th place) helped Morocco to fourth in the rankings while Saudi Arabian-born runner Simon Bairu, representing Canada, was the first non-African to cross the line.

By the midpoint of the lap, former champion Tirunesh Dibaba had slipped out of contention and was ten seconds behind the three leading athletes: Masai, Emily Chebet and Meselech Melkamu.

The little-known Chebet won at the line, defeating the pre-race favourite Masai, who had to content herself with another silver having lost another sprint finish at the competition.

American runner Shalane Flanagan was twelfth and top-20 finishes from Molly Huddle and Magdalena Lewy-Boulet helped the United States to a team bronze.

[16][17] The junior men's race was a straightforward affair: a Kenyan trio of Caleb Ndiku, Clement Langat and Japhet Korir monopolised first position for laps one and two.

[3][22] However, while this success was lauded as a great achievement for Kenya by commentators such as former champion John Ngugi,[23] this dominance came with a fall in both interest and participation from Western countries.

[24] Nations with distinguished histories in long distance running, such as Russia, Germany and Finland, sent no senior athletes to the championships at all, while the sole runners for Belgium and the Netherlands (Atelaw Yeshetela and Hilda Kibet) were both born in East Africa.

[11] However, the decline in European interest had a direct effect on the scheduling of the world championships event, which had been changed from an annual to a biennial format by a large majority of votes at the 2009 IAAF Congress.