Rachel Apa collapsed near mile 24 of the New York City Marathon and died hours later at a Mount Sinai hospital, her father says the cause was a rare condition called rhabdomyolysis.
Story Snapshot
- Rachel Apa, 24, collapsed about two miles from the finish line of her first marathon on November 2.
- Bystanders gave CPR, race medical staff used a defibrillator, and an ambulance took her to Mount Sinai, where she died.
- Her father, Steve Apa, told The New York Times she died from rhabdomyolysis, a breakdown of muscle tissue during extreme exertion.
- The city medical examiner’s office had not released a final cause of death as of the latest reporting.
- Marathon deaths remain extremely rare, with large studies putting the risk at under one death per 100,000 finishers.
What Happened In Central Park
Apa was running the New York City Marathon for charity when she collapsed while approaching the 24-mile mark in Central Park, the New York Police Department told the Associated Press. She was roughly two miles from the finish line of the 26.2-mile course. Emergency responders worked on her at the scene before she was rushed to the hospital, where she later died.
24-year-old Rachel Apa dies after collapsing in Central Park just two miles from completing the New York City Marathon.
Her parents say they were tracking her on the marathon tracking app when she stopped moving at Mile 24.
"Final stretch," her father texted her at Mile 23,… pic.twitter.com/bK8aGNWXjm
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 3, 2026
New York Road Runners, the group that organizes the race, said a bystander started CPR immediately after Apa went down. Race medical staff then took over, used a defibrillator, and got her into an ambulance for transport. The organization released a statement calling her death a tragedy for the running community and extending sympathy to her family and friends.
Reports describe a troubling pattern of text messages Apa sent her father during the final miles. According to Runner’s World, she texted him with short, pained messages, including “Ow” and “Ow ow,” before she went down near mile 24. Those texts, paired with the sudden collapse so close to the finish, point toward a body pushed past its limit during her very first marathon.
A Father’s Account Of A Rare Diagnosis
Steve Apa told The New York Times that doctors determined his daughter died of rhabdomyolysis, a condition where damaged muscle tissue breaks down and releases proteins into the bloodstream. Those proteins can overwhelm the kidneys and heart when the body is pushed to extreme physical limits, which is why rhabdomyolysis shows up most often in endurance athletes, soldiers, and laborers working in heat.
The collapse happened in Central Park, close to where thousands of spectators line the final stretch cheering runners toward the finish line, according to the BBC. That detail matters because it shows how quickly a medical emergency can unfold even near the safest, most crowded part of a 26.2-mile course staffed with medical tents and volunteers.
The New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner told CBS News that no final determination had been made on Apa’s cause of death. ABC News reported separately that New York Road Runners had not confirmed rhabdomyolysis as the official cause either. That means the rhabdomyolysis account currently rests on her father’s statement to reporters, not a released autopsy or medical record.
How Rare Is A Death Like This
Sudden deaths during marathons are uncommon events, even though they draw heavy attention when they happen. A review covering more than 3.29 million marathon finishers found just 26 sudden cardiac deaths, a rate of roughly 0.8 per 100,000 runners. A separate narrative review of the literature estimated the overall death risk during marathons at about 0.67 per 100,000 finishers, or close to one death for every 150,000 runners who cross the start line.
Those numbers don’t diminish what happened to Rachel Apa or her family’s grief. They do explain why her death drew national coverage within hours, and why so many runners and parents are now asking what rhabdomyolysis is and how to spot its warning signs before a race turns deadly. Muscle pain, dark urine, and severe cramping during extreme exertion are the symptoms doctors say should never be ignored.
For now, the facts that are confirmed remain straightforward. A 24-year-old woman collapsed near the finish of her first marathon, first responders and race medical staff fought to save her, and she died later that day at a New York hospital. Her father has publicly named rhabdomyolysis as the cause, while the city’s medical examiner continues its own review before issuing a final ruling.
Sources:
abcnews.com, apnews.com, cbsnews.com, runnersworld.com, medschool.umaryland.edu
