The competition was renamed to its current title in 2020 after the governing body rebranded itself moving away from the long-standing International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) moniker and expanded to include additional races.
[2] The competition replaced the female-only IAAF World Women's Road Race Championships, which was held annually from 1983 to 1991.
Furthermore, a team competition was held in each category, with the winners being decided by combining the performances of a country's top three finishers.
The 20 km race featured only at the 2006 edition, and the half marathon distance returned for the 2007 World Road Running Championships.
[9] Although it was held later that year, many countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and the U.S., declined to participate.