Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich returned to attempt a title defence, and also a world record, but this proved too much for the athlete, who dropped out shortly after the 15 km mark.

After the pacemakers dropped out, Chumba forged ahead with fellow Kenyans Amos Kipruto and Gideon Kipketer, though the latter two soon fell behind and Yuta Shitara had a late surge to overhaul them.

[6] Shitara's national record brought him a 100 million yen bonus (US$950,000) from the Japan Corporate Track and Field Federation as part of their "Project Exceed" initiative to improve performances in the build-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

[9][10] The gap in quality showed as five runners had built up a half minute lead by the first 5 km point – Ethiopians Birhane Dibaba, Ruti Aga and Shure Demise, plus American Amy Cragg and Kenya's Helah Kiprop.

The 30–35 km segment saw Cragg drop eight seconds back and Birhane Dibaba put clear distance between herself and runner-up Ruti Aga, eventually winning with nearly a minute and a half to spare.

Six was the total number of entrants in the women's wheelchair race: Swiss Manuela Schär led the pace and pulled away from Tatyana McFadden and Amanda McGrory to win in 1:43:25 – over a minute and a half clear.