The women's marathon began at midnight local time on 28 September with the temperature at and 70 per cent humidity. By the end of the race, 28 of the 68 starters had dropped out, including all three Ethiopian runners. Five runners in a lead pack stayed together for the first and the pack was down to only four athletes by , including Ruth Chepngetich and Edna Kiplagat of Kenya, Bahrain's Rose Chelimo and Namibia's Helalia Johannes. Chepngetich broke out into a sprint in the final lap to finish at 2:32:43, followed by Chelimo (2:33:46) and Johannes (2:35:15).