Rachel Apa had spent months preparing for her first New York City Marathon. At just 24, the former college field hockey player was ready to complete the 26.2-mile race, carrying a special reason for taking part. But with only about two miles left, Apa collapsed in Central Park and never made it to the finish line. She later died at a hospital, turning what should have been a proud day for her family into a devastating loss.
Apa was running with the Parkinson’s Champions team in memory of her grandfather, who died from Parkinson’s disease in 2022. She had dedicated her race to honoring his memory and supporting efforts to fight the disease. Her father, Steve Apa, said his daughter had been in excellent health and good physical condition before the marathon. She had trained for months and was looking forward to completing her first major endurance race.
Her parents followed her progress throughout Sunday’s race. While her father tracked her movements through the marathon app from their home in Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, her mother, Michelle, was in New York cheering her on. Michelle even recorded a video of her daughter passing the 14-mile mark. Apa appeared happy and full of energy, smiling as she continued along the course.
However, the situation appeared to change during the later stages of the race. Around the 18-mile mark, Apa sent her father a short text message that read, “Ow.” About a mile later, she sent another message: “Ow, Ow.” Steve continued following her progress and sending words of encouragement as she approached the final miles.
When the tracking app showed that his daughter had reached the 23-mile mark, Steve sent her another message. “Final stretch,” he wrote, encouraging her as she neared the finish. But this time, there was no response. Apa collapsed shortly afterward in Central Park, approximately two miles from the finish line.
A hospital social worker watching the marathon, identified as Michaela Nicholas, rushed to help when she saw Apa collapse. Other spectators, including two physicians, joined the emergency effort and performed CPR. Apa’s fiancée was also among those who rushed to her aid. Race medical personnel arrived with a defibrillator before emergency responders took her by ambulance to Mount Sinai Medical Center.
Doctors continued trying to save Apa’s life for several hours. Despite their efforts, she was pronounced dead at approximately 9:40 p.m. on Sunday. Her father later said doctors attributed her death to rhabdomyolysis, a serious condition in which damaged muscle tissue breaks down rapidly and releases harmful substances into the bloodstream. The condition can occur following extreme physical exertion.
Apa had previously played field hockey at Bucknell University, where she competed as a college athlete. She had also recently begun pursuing an MBA at Charleston Southern University while building her professional life. Her first marathon was supposed to be another major achievement, particularly because she had chosen to dedicate it to someone who had played an important role in her life.
Her death has left her family facing a loss that came just as she was approaching the end of a challenge she had worked so hard to complete. For her parents, the final messages from their daughter have become an especially painful part of the story. What began with a smiling video at the 14-mile mark ended with an emergency response in Central Park and a journey to the hospital from which she never returned.
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