It was, apparently, a bit of a slow news day Sunday, October 17. A couple of colleagues in the online newsroom at the CBC were making small talk about the cold, rainy weather and all those nutty runners taking part in the Toronto marathon that day.

"That can't be healthy, out there, running in that stuff," one of them said.

How prophetic.

An hour later, the bulletin flashed across the news wires – Runner dies in Toronto Marathon.

I didn't hear about it until late that afternoon. My daughter called me in Columbus, Ohio, to congratulate me on completing my seventh marathon earlier that day. I was relaxing, eagerly replenishing fluids and basking in the glow of my best marathon performance yet.

I knew what the headlines would say about the Toronto death: "Marathon marred by runner's death" – or "Death on the run." They're headlines I would have used had I been on the news desk that day – instead of cashing in months of training for a shot at a personal best.

And I knew lots of people would go on about how bad running is for you, that it will kill you. Well, let 'em think that way.

Fact is, people dying in marathons merits headlines because it is big news. You see, it hardly ever happens. More than 400,000 people will have run a marathon in North America by the time this year is out. Countless others take part in smaller races. A small percentage seeks medical attention during or after the race. A miniscule number may have to spend the night in hospital.

Last April, when the temperature soared to 30 degrees C in Boston, more than 1,000 out of about 20,000 runners had to be treated – mainly for dehydration and nausea. In 108 runnings of the Boston Marathon, there have been three deaths.

They all make news.

What doesn't make news are stories like.

• Laura Hosking, who after months of hard work completed her first marathon on a cold and breezy day in Columbus and qualified for Boston. At the age of 45.

• Julie Mitchell, who two months after completing the Ironman Triathlon in Lake Placid, New York, finishes a marathon in well under four hours.

• Sorin Selagea, two months after finishing his first Ironman, breaks three hours in a marathon for the first time.

• Adam Marsella, who places 47th out of more than 4300 in Columbus, records a personal best of 2:48.

You also won't read stories about people whose lifestyle choices slice years off their lives. Also last Sunday, CBC TV's Marketplace told the story of a program in Arkansas schools aimed at getting kids to cut back on the junk food and into an active lifestyle. Every student is measured and weighed and receives a sort of "fat grade." If a child is found to be obese or at risk of being obese, a letter is sent home.

To some, it's extreme. To others it's a wake up call to change the way their family eats.

So far, it's not clear what killed the 43-year-old runner in Toronto, who collapsed just a kilometre from the finish of the half marathon. Initial autopsy reports showed no clogging of the arteries.

Most doctors will tell you that the benefits of running (or any other exercise) – reduced stress, higher energy levels, a health body weight and cardio-vascular fitness – far outweigh the risks.

On the way back from Columbus, we stopped for lunch outside Erie, Pennsylvania at one of those family restaurants the U.S is famous for – "food was so-so, but you should have seen the portions!"

A family of five walked in. It was clear the three kids had a tough road ahead.