A 24-year-old runner and former college field hockey player collapsed along the final stretch of Sunday’s New York City Marathon and was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Rachel Apa was running in Manhattan’s Central Park when she collapsed around 1.30pm, according to The New York Times. A hospital social worker named Michaela Nicholas reportedly rushed to her aid but was reportedly unable to find a pulse. Two physicians from the crowd alternately performed CPR, Nicholas told the Times.
Soon after, marathon medical staff arrived with a defibrillator, according to a statement by race organizer, the New York Road Runners (NYRR). The paramedics followed quickly with an ambulance, which brought Rachel to Mount Sinai Medical Center. It was there that doctors tried to save her life for six hours before pronouncing her dead at 9.40pm, according to her father.
As Steve Apa told the Times, his daughter died from rhabdomyolysis, a rare condition in which skeletal muscle quickly breaks down and poisons the bloodstream.
‘It’s unfathomable,’ Steve told the Times. ‘Perfect health, perfect shape, 24 years old.’
‘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.’
Rachel Apa was running in Manhattan’s Central Park when she collapsed around 1:30pm
The 24-year-old former Bucknell field hockey player was pronounced dead at 9:40pm
The Bucknell University graduate had trained for months before running Sunday’s marathon to raise money for the Parkinson’s Foundation Champion.
Rachel’s mother, Michelle, was on hand and recorded footage of the smiling Rachel at Mile 14 in Queens. The young runner was also in touch with her father, Steve, back in Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, where he was texting her encouragement, according to The New York Times.
Steve got a brief response from his daughter at Mile 18.
‘Ow,’ she wrote, adding, ‘Ow ow’ a mile later.
She would write ‘final stretch’ at Mile 23, but Steve never got another text from his daughter after that.
Nicholas told the Times she held Rachel’s hand after the runner collapsed so she would know she wasn’t alone.
Meanwhile, Rachel’s mother was arriving in Central Park, where she expected her daughter to be finishing the race. Instead, as Michelle noticed on the marathon tracking app, Rachel was mysteriously stopped at the 24th mile.
Michelle arrived at the scene just as the ambulance was taking her to the hospital and followed in another ambulance shortly after.
Runners pass through Central Park as they compete in the 2026 TCS New York City Marathon
Following Rachel’s death, the NYRR confirmed she was the first runner to die during the New York City Marathon since 2024. Additionally, in 2007, five-time US national champion Ryan Shay died in Central Park during the Olympic marathon trials, which were held by the NYRR a day before that year’s New York City Marathon.
Rachel had been working as a product manager for an electrical component company and was studying to get her MBA at Charleston Southern University. She was running to raise money for Parkinson’s disease, which claimed her grandfather’s life in 2022.
‘My grandfather was my role model growing up,’ Rachel wrote online. ‘He taught me to stay active, push my limits, and embrace challenges, shaping my love for sports and movement. Later in life, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and I watched as the disease slowly took away the freedom to move that he once loved so much. He passed away in 2022, but the lessons he taught me continue to drive me forward.
‘I’m proud to run with Parkinson’s Foundation Champions to raise funds and awareness for research, better care, and a cure.’
