A runner who collapsed near Mile 24 at Sunday’s New York City Marathon and later passed away was taking part in her first marathon and was just two miles from the finish line.
Rachel Apa, who was 24, had entered Central Park after the course diverted from Fifth Avenue at 90th Street, the first of two points in the park, and never made it to the next mile checkpoint.
Her father, Steve, who was tracking her on the race’s official app, confirmed in a report in The New York Times on Tuesday that she fell around 1:30 p.m. Two bystanders, who said they were doctors, administered CPR until medics staffed on the course arrived and used a defibrillator.
An ambulance arrived and transported Rachel to Mount Sinai Medical Center, where doctors worked to save her for more than six hours, the report said. But she was declared dead around 9:40 p.m. around the time when many of the final finishers of the marathon were completing the race.
According to her father Steve, Rachel died from rhabdomyolysis, a muscle condition that can be brought on by high-intensity activities, working out in hot conditions, heatstroke or severe dehydration. Skeletal muscles in the body can break down rapidly and cause death.
“It’s unfathomable,” he said in the report. “Perfect health, perfect shape, 24 years old.”
Rachel’s mother, Michelle, was on the course and recorded video of her at mile 14 in Queen as she smiled, waved and high-fived spectators. Michelle then traveled to the closing stages of the race and was waiting near mile 25. The tracking app showed that Rachel’s position had not moved and Michelle walked opposite of the runners and saw two ambulances at the scene and rode with the second group of paramedics to the hospital.
At miles 18 and 19, Rachel texted family members and sent her final message to them at mile 23 just before turning into Central Park.
Rachel was running on behalf of Parkinson’s Champions, one of the partner charities for the race in honor of her grandfather and raised more than $7,600 of her $4,000 goal.
“My grandfather was my role model growing up,” Apa said on her fundraising page. “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.”
At the marathon expo held days before the race, Rachel was seen in a photo holding her bib with her number 29977 and pointing a name on a wall that listed all of the participants. She started in the third wave, which assembled on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge at 10:20 a.m. on Sunday.
Rachel worked as a product manager for an electrical component company and recently started an M.B.A. program at Charleston Southern University in North Charleston, South Carolina.
“We are deeply saddened by the death of one of our runners following yesterday’s race,” NYRR said in a statement. “Our thoughts and sincere sympathies are with the runner’s family, friends, and the entire running community.”
