Kiplagat, who was ever present at the front of the women's race, outdid Ethiopian Dire Tune in the last kilometre to win her second gold medal on the global stage.

The city of Nanning was announced as the host venue for the 2010 World Half Marathon Championship at the IAAF Council Meeting in Monaco in November 2008.

[4] The competition featured an original event mascot – an anthropomorphic ox, called "Ah Niu", which was dressed in the traditional costume of the Zhuang people.

[10] The half marathon course was designed in a double-looped, or figure eight, format which had Wuxiang Square as the central start and finish point for the race, situated just off Nanning's Minzu Avenue.

Tracing a path alongside The Admiral City Shopping Mall, the route went east to return the starting point of Wuxiang Square.

[13] The favourite for the men's race was Eritrean runner Zersenay Tadese (the defending champion with four straight wins), who had broken the world record earlier that year with a run of 58:23 minutes at the Lisbon Half Marathon.

[15] Newly minted African Champion Wilson Kiprop was the most prominent of the Kenyan contingent, which was the clear favourite for the team title through its hoard of sub-60 minute runners including Sammy Kitwara, Silas Kipruto and Moses Mosop.

The leading four runners were soon reduced to three, as Kipruto fell away to leave Zersenay Tadese, Wilson Kiprop and Sammy Kitwara to battle for the medal positions.

[27] The provisional favourite for the women's race was Kenyan runner Florence Kiplagat, who was the fastest entrant in the field through her win at the Lille Half Marathon in September (also her debut for the distance).

The Ethiopians, led by Boston Marathon winner Dire Tune, were their main opposition for the team race, although the nation had sent relatively inexperienced runners to the championships on this occasion.

By the time the first 5 km marker was passed, Australia's Nikki Chapple was the only athlete left in the leading pack to come from outside the two historically strong nations.

Chepchirchir slowed considerably while Meseret Mengistu, Joyce Chepkirui and Fate Tola were the next to gradually lose contact with the front runners.

[22][32][33] Despite Dire's greater experience over long distances, it was Kiplagat who forged ahead in the last kilometre and she won the race with ten seconds to spare over her Ethiopian rival.

A strong final phase saw Zhu Xiaolin take eighth place for the hosts, which was the best non-African individual performance that year.

[32] Japan's Yoshimi Ozaki and Ryoko Kizaki were immediately behind her, failing to get a top eight finish but yet again leading the country to the team bronze with a buffer of over six minutes between them and Australia.

[36][37] The younger Ethiopians (Feyse Tadese, Meseret Mengistu and Fate Tola) missed out on the medals but still set personal bests for the half marathon, as did Kenyan Joyce Chepkirui.