Rachel Apa, 24, of Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, died Sunday after collapsing in Central Park near mile 24 of the New York City Marathon. A bystander and race medical staff gave her emergency care before she was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital. Her father said the cause was rhabdomyolysis.
Rachel Apa, a 24-year-old woman from Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, died after taking part in the 2026 TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday. She died before finishing her first marathon, after collapsing at mile 24 in Central Park, just over two miles from the finish line. Her family and her father, Steve Apa, said she collapsed about two miles from the end of the race. New York Road Runners, which organizes the race, said it was deeply saddened by the death of one of its runners.
Emergency response and hospital care
According to New York Road Runners, a bystander performed CPR near mile marker 24 before race medical staff arrived. Medical staffers also performed CPR and used a defibrillator, and paramedics then took her to a hospital but could not save her. She was transported by ambulance to Mount Sinai Hospital. The NYPD said emergency medical workers took her there in critical condition, and she died hours later. Doctors at Mount Sinai worked for more than six hours to save her, and she was declared dead at around 9:40 p.m.
Cause of death and final messages
Her father told The New York Times that her cause of death was rhabdomyolysis. He described it as a rare condition in which muscles break down and poison the bloodstream, and said it can be brought on by overexertion. According to The New York Times, she sent her father brief texts at mile 18 and again at mile 19. She did not reply to his mile 23 text telling her she was on the final stretch. Steve Apa said his daughter had played field hockey in college and was in perfect health and perfect shape.
Raising money for Parkinson's disease
Apa ran with the Parkinson's Foundation Champions team to raise money in honor of her grandfather, who had Parkinson's disease and died in 2022. She was a former Division I field hockey player at Bucknell University. She had recently started an MBA program at Charleston Southern University.
The race
A record 61,000 runners reached the finish line as the marathon marked 50 years in its five-borough format. More than 61,000 people took part, and the race broke the world record for largest marathon for the third year in a row. New York Road Runners told the Times that the last marathon death occurred during a medical incident in 2024.
