Rachel Apa, who died while running the New York City Marathon on Sunday.
Credit...Hollis Kolmansburger
Rachel Apa collapsed in Central Park. The cause was rhabdomyolysis, a rare muscle condition that can be brought on by exertion, her father said.
By Andy Newman
Rachel Apa collapsed in Central Park. The cause was rhabdomyolysis, a rare muscle condition that can be brought on by exertion, her father said.
By Andy Newman
Published Nov. 2, 2026
Updated Nov. 3, 2026, 12:43 a.m. ET
Rachel Apa’s mother was waiting for her at Mile 25.
It was Rachel’s first marathon. She was 24, an athlete, a former Division I field hockey player at Bucknell University. She had trained for this race, the New York City Marathon, for months.
At Mile 14 on Sunday, in Queens, Rachel’s mother, Michelle Apa, had taken a video of her daughter, all smiles, flying by in her light green top and shorts, high-fiving toward the camera. Then Ms. Apa headed to Central Park, toward the finish line.
Back home in Lewisberry, Pa., Rachel’s father, Steve Apa, was tracking her on the marathon app, texting her encouragement at every mile. At Mile 18, Rachel texted back “Ow.” At 19, she texted back “Ow ow.”
At Miles 20 and 21 and 22, Rachel did not write back, but she kept running. “Final stretch,” Mr. Apa texted at Mile 23.
He never heard back.
Rachel Apa at Mile 14 of the New York City Marathon on Sunday.
Rachel Apa’s mother was waiting for her at Mile 25.
It was Rachel’s first marathon. She was 24, an athlete, a former Division I field hockey player at Bucknell University. She had trained for this race, the New York City Marathon, for months.
At Mile 14 on Sunday, in Queens, Rachel’s mother, Michelle Apa, had taken a video of her daughter, all smiles, flying by in her light green top and shorts, high-fiving toward the camera. Then Ms. Apa headed to Central Park, toward the finish line.
Back home in Lewisberry, Pa., Rachel’s father, Steve Apa, was tracking her on the marathon app, texting her encouragement at every mile. At Mile 18, Rachel texted back “Ow.” At 19, she texted back “Ow ow.”
At Miles 20 and 21 and 22, Rachel did not write back, but she kept running. “Final stretch,” Mr. Apa texted at Mile 23.
He never heard back.
Rachel Apa at Mile 14 of the New York City Marathon on Sunday.
Near Mile 24, in Central Park near 85th Street, a spectator named Michaela Nicholas saw the woman in green run by with the bib No. 29977 and the name Rachel on it. “Let’s go, Rachel, you got this!” Ms. Nicholas yelled.
Seconds later, around 1:30 p.m., Rachel Apa collapsed.
Ms. Nicholas, a hospital social worker, ran over and could not find a pulse. Her fiancée yelled for a doctor. Three people, two of whom said they were physicians, took turns administering CPR, Ms. Nicholas said. She held Rachel’s hand and told her she was not alone.
The marathon’s medical staff arrived and used a defibrillator on the fallen runner, said the New York Road Runners, which organizes the marathon. Soon, paramedics arrived in an ambulance.
On the marathon tracking app, Rachel’s parents could see that she was still at Mile 24. After minutes went by, Mr. Apa said, his wife headed over. She got to the scene as the ambulance was pulling away. She went in a second ambulance to Mount Sinai Medical Center, where doctors tried to save her daughter’s life for more than six hours. Rachel was declared dead around 9:40 p.m., Mr. Apa said.
The cause, Mr. Apa said, was rhabdomyolysis, a rare muscle condition that can be brought on by exertion in which the muscles break down and can poison the body.
“It’s unfathomable,” he said. “Perfect health, perfect shape, 24 years old.”
Rachel, a product manager for an electrical component company who had just started an M.B.A. program at Charleston Southern University, was running to raise money to fight Parkinson’s disease, which had killed her grandfather.
“My grandfather was one of my role models growing up,” she wrote on LinkedIn. “He taught me to stay active, push my limits, and embrace challenges.”
The New York Road Runners said that the last time a runner at the marathon died after a medical incident was in 2024.
“We are deeply saddened by the death of one of our runners following yesterday’s race,” the Road Runners said in a statement. “Our thoughts and sincere sympathies are with the runner’s family, friends, and the entire running community.”
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