Rachel Apa, 24, Dies After Collapsing Two Miles From the NYC Marathon Finish

Rachel Apa, 24, of Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, died on Sunday after collapsing near the 24-mile mark of the New York City Marathon, roughly two miles from the finish line in Central Park. The New York Police Department told USA Today that a 24-year-old woman experienced a “medical episode” near mile marker 24 and was transported to the hospital in critical condition.

Spectators reached her first. A hospital social worker, Michaela Nicholas, was among those who began CPR on the course, and marathon medical staff arrived with a defibrillator, according to The New York Times. Apa was taken by ambulance to Mount Sinai Hospital, and her mother followed in a second ambulance. Her father, Steve Apa, told the Times that doctors worked on her from about 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. She was pronounced dead on Sunday night.

Her father said she died of rhabdomyolysis, a rare condition in which muscle tissue breaks down and releases substances into the bloodstream that can overwhelm the kidneys. According to the Cleveland Clinic, rhabdomyolysis causes muscles to break down, sending toxins into the circulation system and kidneys, where they can cause kidney damage. The condition can result from overexertion, trauma, medications or an underlying health condition. Its common symptoms are weak muscles, muscle stiffness and muscle pain, and about 26,000 people develop it in the United States each year, according to the Cleveland Clinic. No official cause of death has been announced. “It’s unfathomable,” her father told the Times. “Perfect health, perfect shape, 24 years old.”

For most of Sunday, nothing about her race looked wrong. Apa texted her father for the first time about seven miles in: “Never felt better. I must have done the carb loading correctly for the first time.” Steve Apa, tracking her on the marathon’s app from home in Pennsylvania, texted her at every mile. His advice before the race had been simple: “This is your first marathon. Go easy. Don’t go out too fast.” Around mile 18, her messages changed. She sent “Ugh,” and then “Ow.” He told her to go easy and messaged again at mile 20; she answered “ow.” That was the last he heard from her. At mile 23, he sent one more: “Final stretch. Finished, not speed.” It went unanswered.

Her mother had watched her pass mile 14 in Queens earlier in the race and filmed her, smiling. Michelle Apa was waiting near mile 25 when the family noticed Rachel had stopped moving on the tracking app. She went to mile 24, where spectators told her an ambulance had just taken her daughter to the hospital.

It was Apa’s first marathon, and she had trained for months. “She did everything she’s supposed to for the training up to the marathon,” her father said. “I remember her telling me, ‘Dad, this weekend’s my 18-mile run.’ So she was fully trained, fully prepared.” She ran as a charity runner for the Parkinson’s Foundation, on its Parkinson’s Champions team, in honor of her grandfather, who died of Parkinson’s disease in 2022. “My grandfather was my role model growing up,” she wrote on her fundraising page. “He taught me to stay active, push my limits, and embrace challenges, shaping my love for sports and movement.” Her page set a goal of $4,000. By Tuesday it had raised more than $8,000 — more than double the goal.

She had announced the run in September, in a LinkedIn post that explained why she had chosen the Parkinson’s Foundation. “This November 1st, I’ll be running the NYC Marathon as a charity runner with the Parkinson’s Foundation,” she wrote. “I’ll be raising money that goes toward critical research, better care, and hopefully one day, a cure.” The Parkinson’s Champions team she ran with is one of the race’s official charity partners.

Apa was a lifelong athlete who played Division I field hockey at Bucknell University, where she earned a degree in business. She worked as a product manager for an electrical components company — the same company her grandfather and father worked for, her father said — and had recently moved to Charleston, South Carolina, where she was pursuing a master’s degree in business administration at Charleston Southern University. “She was always full of life. Always a go-getter,” her father said. “She wasn’t one to sit around about anything, if it’s athletics or academics or just life in general.”

New York Road Runners, which organizes the race, said in a statement: “We are deeply saddened by Rachel’s passing following running in Sunday’s race. Our thoughts and sincere sympathies are with her family, friends, and the entire running community.” The organization said she was the first participant to die during the event since 2024. Sunday’s marathon was the largest in the race’s history, with a record 61,146 finishers.