Due to the heat in Doha, the race was scheduled to begin at 23:59 on 27 September 2019, which made it the first midnight marathon in the history of the World Championships.

Only 40 of the 68 entrants finished the race, which was won by Ruth Chepng'etich of Kenya in 2:32.43; the slowest winning time at the World Championships.

A group of six runners broke away during the first half of the race; Chepngetich, Chelimo, Johannes, Lonah Salpeter, Edna Kiplagat, and Visiline Jepkesho.

[1] Alternatively, a top-10 finish at an IAAF Gold Label marathon, or a wild card entry as the reigning world champion would ensure qualification.

[7] On the day leading up to the race, two of the 70 entrants withdrew: Great Britain's Tish Jones was suffering with a muscle injury in her leg,[8] while Nikolina Šustić of Croatia had suspected food poisoning.

[11] The race was officially scheduled to start at 23:59 local time (UTC+3) on 27 September 2019;[12] temperatures were higher than expected, at 32.7 °C (90.9 °F) and 73 per cent humidity.

[13] At the start of the race, Sardana Trofimova, a Russian runner cleared by the IAAF to run as an "Authorised Neutral Athlete", led the field.

[14] Around 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) into the race, which had 68 starters, a small pack broke away at the front, featuring Chepngetich, Chelimo, Salpeter, Edna Kiplagat, Visiline Jepkesho and Helalia Johannes.

[16] Some of the athletes dropping out required medical attention: Sara Dossena of Italy needed a wheelchair, while Uganda's Linet Toroitich Chebet had to be taken away by an ambulance.

"[17] Later in the day, the IAAF published a statement saying that no athletes had suffered heat stroke as a result of the race, and that the completion rate was similar to that seen in Tokyo in 1991 and Moscow in 2013.