The Men's Marathon race at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics was held on August 13 in the streets of Helsinki with the goal line situated in the Helsinki Olympic Stadium.
Reiko Tosa is a Japanese long-distance runner who specializes in the marathon race. She was born in Matsuyama, Ehime.
Elfenesh Alemu is an Ethiopian long-distance runner, who specializes in the marathon race. She represented Ethiopia at the Summer Olympics in 2000 and 2004. She also competed in the marathon at the World Championships in Athletics four times consecutively from 1997 to 2003.
Shigeru Aburaya is a Japanese long-distance runner who specializes in the marathon race.
Alberico Di Cecco is an Italian long-distance runner who specializes in the marathon race.
Helena Javornik is a Slovenian long-distance runner who has specialized in all distances from 1500 metres to the marathon race.
Souad Aït Salem, also known as Souad Aït Mahour-Bacha is an Algerian long-distance runner who specializes mainly in the half marathon and marathon. She won gold in the 10,000 metres at the 2000 African Championships in Athletics and the 2005 Mediterranean Games. Salem also won the gold in the half marathon at the 2007 All-Africa Games. She holds the Algerian records for every women's event between 3000 metres and the marathon distance.
Marleen Renders is a retired female long-distance runner from Belgium, who represented her native country thrice at the Summer Olympics: in 1988, 1996 and 2000. In 1995 she won the Antwerp Marathon, in 1998 the Berlin Marathon, and she triumphed twice in the Paris Marathon in 2000 and 2002.
Alberto Juzdado López is a Spanish long-distance runner. He specialized in the marathon race.
Maria Guida is an Italian long-distance runner.
Ornella Ferrara is an Italian long-distance runner who specialized in the marathon race. She represented her country twice at the Summer Olympics and was the bronze medalist in the marathon at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics. She has won marathon races in her home country, including the Rome City Marathon, Carpi Marathon and Venice Marathon.
Sissel Sofie Grottenberg is a retired Norwegian long-distance runner who specialized in the marathon race and half marathon.
Helena Sampaio is a Portuguese runner, who specialized in cross-country running.
Migidio Bourifa is an Italian long-distance runner who specializes in the marathon races.
Hiromi Ominami is a Japanese long-distance runner. She was born in Wakasa, Fukui. Her twin sister is Takami Ominami, also a world class marathon runner with a personal best of 2:23:43.
Christopher Cheboiboch is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in the marathon. He has won the Leipzig Marathon and the San Diego Marathon and was the runner-up at the 2002 New York City Marathon. He represented his country at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics, but did not finish the marathon race.
Stine Larsen is a retired Norwegian long-distance runner who specialized in the marathon.
Claudia Dreher is a German long-distance runner. She competed for her native country at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
Constantina Diță, is a Romanian long-distance runner, who specializes mainly in the half marathon and marathon. She was the marathon gold medallist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, having previously won a bronze medal at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics. She also represented her country at the Olympics in 2000 and 2004.
Getuli Amnaay Bayo is a Tanzanian marathon runner. He set his personal best time of 2:10:45, by finishing third at the 2005 Zurich Marathon. He is also the brother of Zebedayo Bayo, who competed for the same event at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, and at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
Tanzania 
