[1] Organised by the Confederation of African Athletics, it marked the start of a new continental competition for Africa following the decision by the IAAF to alter the scheduling of the World Cross Country Championships from every year to a biennial format.

The Kenyan athletes took a complete sweep of the competition, winning all the individual medals and the four team titles.

[3] Sigosi Chesonane, representing the host nation, was the only non-Kenyan to reach the top five in an event, finishing fifth in the men's senior race.

[4] Although Kenya dominated the competition, none of its runners at the African event ran at the 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships two weeks later.

The Kenyan team's jubilant celebrations led to the entire squad of 30 runners and officials missing their flight for Nairobi, scheduled later that day at Cape Town International Airport.