10. Marathon
Odds of dying: 1 in 126,626
The article Competing risks of mortality with marathons: retrospective analysis shows that risk of dying from a heart attack while running a marathon is one in 126 625. The number is based on analysis of 26 deaths among almost 3.3 million participants on 750 separate days. Previous heart conditions that usually went undetected were the main cause of these fatalities. Other studies estimate odds of heart failure during a race at one in 80 000. The majority of these fatalities happen near or shortly after finishing line, and people under 40 are seven times less likely to survive the heart attack. Still, compared to the possibility of dying in a car crash or in an air travel accident, odds that marathon will kill you are low.
