This article about 3 runners dying in the Detroit Marathon might give you the impression that running marathons is dangerous.
I know that in at least 5 marathons that I’ve done there have been people who have died. It is almost always the result of some type of heart problem. (Although in 1998, it is thought that Kelly Barrett died hyponatermia)
How dangerous is marathon running?
The statistic most often quoted is that marathon runners have a 1 in 50,000 chance of dying. But according to this study of the Twin Cities and Marine Corp marathons it’s more like a 1 in 220,000 chance. An average estimate of all marathons (some are less well-equipped and thus more dangerous) is about 1 in 75,000.
That means that odds of dying from running a marathon is somewhere between getting killed by a tornado (1 in 60,000) getting struck by lightning (1 in 83,390). It could be almost as rare as getting hit and killed by an asteroid (1 in 200,000). See this previous article for the odds of dying from other things.
What happened in Detroit?
The experts say these three deaths are most likely a statistical anomaly. It is a good reminder that while things can have a low probability of happening, rare events do occur. In fact, with the number of people who run marathons each year (~400,000 people in 2007) you can expect that there will be 2-4 deaths each year.
What can you do?
Other than checking with your doctor before doing a marathon, there is little you can do to affect whether you will be one of the extremely rare deaths or not. But I think of this very philosophically.
You never know what you are going to die from so there’s no need to worry much about it.
I don’t know about you, but I’m not afraid of dying while joggling a marathon. If only my wife was as easily convinced.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I think some peeps are just jealous that we might go doing something we love to do
Don’t be a hater 