1998 IAAF World Road Relay Championships

The women's race took place in difficult weather conditions, with high humidity and a temperature around 34 degrees Celsius (93° Fahrenheit). Kenya's Jackline Maranga led the pack in the first stage at 15:39 minutes, with Ethiopia's Yimenashu Taye 19 seconds in arrears and Japan's Takako Kotorida another 20 seconds back. On the second leg Gete Wami overhauled Kenya's Jane Omoro to put Ethiopia in first place, while Alina Tecuţă had the second fastest time to bring Romania into third place. Ethiopia extended its lead in the third leg through stage winner Genet Gebregiorgis and Miyo Nakano brought Japan to third again.[6]

A strong leg four by Cristina Pomacu returned Romania to third place and Alla Zhilyaeva won the stage to bring Russia back up the ranks. Ayelech Worku cemented Ethiopia's lead by completing the fifth stage eleven seconds faster than Kenya's Naomi Mugo, now over a minute behind, while Romania's Constantina Diță pulled further away from fourth-placed Japan. Kenya's Sally Barsosio attempted to close down Ethiopia's Merima Denboba in the final leg, but was unable to do so, finishing over half a minute behind the Ethiopian despite her leg of 24:09 minutes. The conditions severely affected some of the teams: Russia trailed by three and a half minutes in the first leg due to Yelena Motalova struggling,[6] Mexico's Judith Ramirez took nearly seven minutes longer than Russia's Zhilyaeva to finish her 10K fourth leg, and Ecuador's Sara Nivisela took nearly four minutes longer to complete the 5-kilometre fifth leg than did Ethiopia's Ayelech Worku.[8]

The following morning, the weather conditions proved a little more amenable to the male runners, with humidity dropping to 85% and the temperature falling to 28 degrees Celsius (82° Fahrenheit). John Kibowen led off the Kenyan team as front runner and was narrowly edged out by Ethiopia's Million Wolde in the first stage, with both recording 13:44 minutes for the 5 km, and a battle for third emerged between Brazil's Elenilson da Silva and Portugal's Hélder Ornelas some 15 seconds adrift. Stage two saw Kenya emerge as clear leaders as Paul Koech gained 49 seconds on his Ethiopian rival Ayele Mezgebu. Behind them, Japan's Tomoaki Kunichika pulled level Alberto Maravilha (Portugal) and Tomix da Costa (Brazil) in the chase for third as the athletes neared the mid-point.[9][7]

Benjamin Limo completed the fourth leg 24 seconds faster than the rest of the field to keep Kenya's lead. Brazil's Ronaldo da Costa gained a ten second gap in third, with Japan (Masatoshi Ibata) and Portugal (Angelo Pacheco) both slowing in fourth and fifth. Tom Nyariki made it three consecutive stage wins for Kenya in the fifth leg, gaining over 40 seconds over second placed Ethiopian Tesfaye Tolla. Elijah Mutandiko's 33-minute 10K leg (second fastest of the stage) brought Zimbabwe into fifth place, as Portugal fell back. Ethiopia rallied in the fifth stage with Fita Bayisa running 5 km in 14:16 minutes to draw nearer to Kenya's John Kosgei. A poor run from Ethiopia's Alene Emere saw Kenyan Paul Malakwen Kosgei ease to victory with over two and a half minutes to spare. Consistentcy saw Brazil claim third place, with Sergio Goncalves da Silva finishing around a minute after the Ethiopian. Zimbabwe's Abel Chimukoko had the second fastest time of the final stage, which saw his mostly-barefooted team overhaul Japan for fourth place by a margin of three seconds. Denmark's Jorgen Gamborg failed to complete his last leg – the only athlete at the competition to do so – meaning his team was eliminated.[9][7]