Rachel Apa, a 24-year-old running her first marathon, died after collapsing in Central Park during the TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday 1 November. A Bucknell University graduate and former Division I field hockey player, she was running for the Parkinson’s Foundation’s Parkinson’s Champions programme in honour of her grandfather, who has lived with the disease. Her death has drawn wide attention in the running community.
Reports say Apa fell near mile 24, less than two miles from the finish, at around 1.30pm. Bystanders began chest compressions until race medical staff arrived with a defibrillator, and she was taken to Mount Sinai in critical condition. Her father, Steve Apa, told The New York Times she died at about 9.40pm after hours of attempts to revive her. Video from mile 14 showed her smiling, and she had texted her father a single word, “Ow”, by mile 18.
Her family has said she died of rhabdomyolysis, a breakdown of muscle tissue that releases its contents into the bloodstream and can damage the kidneys and heart. Doctors reportedly described the diagnosis as extremely rare. Medical professionals have not publicly confirmed a cause, and no official findings have been released, so the details remain the family’s account.
New York Road Runners said it was deeply saddened by her death and noted that no New York City Marathon runner had died from a race-day medical emergency since 2024. Large marathons plan extensively for medical emergencies, with aid stations, roaming medics and defibrillators along the route, but outcomes in cardiac arrest depend heavily on how quickly resuscitation begins, which is why the role of bystanders in this case has been highlighted.
A fundraising effort in her name has since passed $118,000, according to reports. For runners, the case is a reminder to take unusual pain, weakness or dark urine during or after prolonged exertion seriously and to seek medical help, while recognising that fatal events in marathons remain rare. Further information may emerge as the family and medical authorities share more.