Evans Rutto is a Kenyan long-distance runner, who specialises in road running events. He made the fastest-ever marathon debut by winning the 2003 Chicago Marathon in a time of 2:05:50. He won the London Marathon and a second title in Chicago the following year.

The 1999 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on 27 and 28 March 1999. The races were held at the Barnett Demesne/Queen's University Playing Fields in Belfast, United Kingdom. Reports of the event were given in The New York Times, in the Herald, and for the IAAF.