A 24-year-old runner died after collapsing in Central Park, roughly two miles before reaching the finish of the New York City Marathon.
Rachel Apa was competing in her first marathon on Sunday as a member of the Parkinson’s Champions team. She ran in memory of her grandfather, who lived with Parkinson’s disease until his death in 2022.
“My grandfather was my role model growing up. He taught me to stay active, push limits, and embrace challenges, shaping my love for sports and movement,” Apa wrote in a fundraising appeal.
A former field hockey player at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania, Apa had spent months preparing for the 26.2-mile race. Her father, Steve Apa, told The New York Times that she had been in “perfect health, perfect shape.”
Her mother, Michelle Apa, was in New York supporting her in person, while Steve followed his daughter’s progress through the official marathon tracking app.
Apa appeared cheerful in a video filmed by her mother after she passed the 14-mile mark. Several miles later, however, she texted her father, “Ow.” At mile 19, she sent another message—“Ow, Ow”—as he encouraged her along the course.
Wearing light green, Apa did not message her father again. When the tracking app showed she had reached mile 23, he sent her an encouraging text: “Final stretch.” She never replied.
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Apa later collapsed in Central Park. Spectator Michaela Nicholas, a hospital social worker, ran to help with her fiancé, and CPR was administered at the scene.
Michelle Apa also hurried to the park after noticing that her daughter’s progress had stopped on the marathon tracking app.
Apa was transported to Mount Sinai, where she died at 9:40 p.m. Her father said the cause was rhabdomyolysis and described the loss as “unfathomable.”
The Cleveland Clinic estimates that about 26,000 people in the United States develop rhabdomyolysis each year. The rare condition occurs when muscle tissue breaks down and disintegrates.
The previous death recorded at the New York City Marathon occurred in 2024.
This year, 61,146 runners completed the New York City Marathon. New York Road Runners said the event set a world record for the largest marathon for the third consecutive year.
Sweden’s Andreas Almgren won the men’s race in 2:06:01, finishing about a minute slower than the course record of 2:04:58 set by Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola in 2023.
In the women’s division, 35-year-old Kenyan runner Sheila Chepkirui secured her second New York City Marathon title with a time of 2:24:36. She also won the race in 2024.