TRAGIC

Runner, 24, Dies 2 Miles From NYC Marathon Finish Line

Rachel Apa’s father said she was in “perfect health” and “perfect shape.”

#2

A 24-year-old New York City Marathon runner died after collapsing two miles from the finish line. Rachel Apa was running her first marathon on Sunday to raise money for Parkinson’s disease research, in honor of her late grandfather. “My grandfather was one of my role models growing up,” she wrote on LinkedIn. “He taught me to stay active, push my limits, and embrace challenges.” The former Bucknell University field hockey player had been training for months. Her father told The New York Times that she was in “perfect health, perfect shape.” Apa collapsed near Mile 24, in Central Park, and was rushed to the hospital, where she died from rhabdomyolysis, a rare injury where muscles break down rapidly and leak a toxic protein into the bloodstream. The New York Road Runners told The Times that the last time a runner at the marathon died after a medical incident was in 2024.