Twenty-four-year-old Rachel Apa had spent months preparing for her first marathon in New York City on November 1, however, what was meant to be a major personal milestone turned tragic just two miles before the finish line.
The Charleston Southern University MBA student collapsed at around 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, leading several bystanders to rush to her aid, only to find that she had no pulse.
She passed away a few hours later at Mount Sinai Medical Center, her father, Steve Apa, confirmed.
It has now emerged that the grieving father was also the recipient of a series of heartbreaking final messages from Rachel.
Rachel Apa was in touch with her father over text moments before the NYC Marathon tragedy
Rachel was in “perfect health” before the marathon, according to Steve, who was monitoring her progress through a tracking app from his home in Pennsylvania.
Her mother, Michelle, also captured a recording of Rachel smiling and waving at Mile 14 in Queens, corroborating her father’s account.
However, by Mile 18, things had begun to take a turn for the worse for the young woman, as revealed by her messages to her father.
“Ow,” she wrote at the time, adding, “Ow ow” a mile later.
Steve encouraged his daughter at Mile 23, writing, “final stretch.”
But he never received another message from her, per The New York Times.
Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News via Getty Images
Meanwhile, Rachel’s mother was making her way to Central Park, where she expected to see her daughter approaching the finish line.
Instead, she noticed on the marathon tracking app that Rachel had mysteriously stopped at Mile 24.
Michelle rushed to the location, where she discovered that an ambulance was transporting Rachel to the hospital after two physicians at the scene confirmed she had no pulse.
She followed in a separate ambulance shortly afterward, but at 9:40 p.m., she was informed that her daughter had passed away.
Rachel’s cause of demise was traced to a medical condition that causes rapid muscle breakdown
Steve Apa told The New York Times on Monday, November 2, that Rachel passed away from rhabdomyolysis.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, it is a serious health complication that occurs when damaged skeletal muscle breaks down rapidly.
As the muscle fibers disintegrate, they release their internal contents, including myoglobin and the enzyme creatine kinase, directly into the bloodstream.
This can trigger dangerous chemical imbalances and acute kidney injury.
In severe cases, the condition can also cause kidney failure as the organs struggle to filter the large amounts of muscle proteins released into the bloodstream.
Steve described his daughter’s passing as an “unfathomable” loss.
New York Road Runners, the organizer of Sunday’s event, meanwhile, said they were “deeply saddened” by the passing of one of the participants.
“Our thoughts and sincere sympathies are with the runner’s family, friends, and the entire running community,” they added.
The athlete was running to raise funds for Parkinson’s disease, which claimed her grandfather’s life
Rachel had described her grandfather as her “role model” in a recent fundraiser she launched in support of Parkinson’s research.
“He taught me to stay active, push my limits and embrace challenges, shaping my love for speed and movement,” she wrote.
“Later in life, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and I watched as the disease slowly took away the freedom to move that he once loved so much.”
Although Rachel’s grandfather passed away in 2022, she said the lessons he had taught her continued to drive her forward.
“I’m proud to run with Parkinson’s Champions to raise funds,” she announced in the post.
The fundraiser initially aimed to collect $4,000.
However, as of this writing, it has surpassed that target, with donations reaching $12,666.
The New York City Marathon has witnessed several runner fatalities over the years
New York Road Runners confirmed that Rachel Apa was the organization’s first fatality since 2024.
They kept the other participant’s identity private out of respect for his family.
Before them, 86-year-old Joy Johnson, who became the oldest woman to complete the race in 2013, passed away from complications related to blunt-force trauma.
She had insisted on finishing despite falling and hitting her head at Mile 20.
Carlos Jose Gomes, a 58-year-old Brazilian runner, collapsed and passed away from a heart attack shortly after crossing the finish line in 2008.
The 2008 edition of the race also saw two other fatalities: one involving a regular marathon runner from Staten Island and another involving a man who passed away in the hospital several days later.
A year earlier, meanwhile, 28-year-old Ryan Shay, a five-time U.S. national champion, tragically collapsed and passed away approximately 5.5 miles into the U.S. Olympic Men’s Marathon Trials.
“This happens when you don’t hydrate well and don’t pee,” a netizen said about Rachel’s cause of demise
