The competition exists out of a single race, in which all competitors conduct a course of 10,000 metres. The competitor with the fastest time is the winner of the event.
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Thirty-four athletes qualified for the event with defending champion Mohamed Farah as one of the big contenders for a gold medal. His biggest competitors would come from Kenya and Ethiopia, with Kenyans taking up the rest of the top four positions at the world championships. Being represented by fifth-placed in London Bedan Karoki Muchiri, world champion of the half marathon Geoffrey Kipsang Kamworor, and two-time bronze medalist at the world championships Paul Kipngetich Tanui, Kenya was not represented by any of the athletes who competed at the world championships in 2015. Ethiopia was represented by three youngsters in world-leading Yigrem Demelash, Tamirat Tola, and Abadi Hadis. Other medal contenders and outsiders included Zersenay Tadese, defending silver medalist Galen Rupp, Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei, and Ali Kaya.
