Rachel Apa

Rachel Apa collapsed near the 24 mile marker of the TCS New York City Marathon in Central Park on Sunday, November 1, 2026, a little over two miles from the finish. It was her first marathon. She had texted her father early in the race that she felt great, then from around mile 18 wrote "Ugh" and "Ow," and stopped replying after mile 23. Her father noticed her location stop moving on the tracking app at about 1:30 p.m.

A bystander began CPR and race medical staff used a defibrillator before she was taken by ambulance to Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan. Her mother, searching near mile 24, was told by an EMS worker that Rachel had just been taken to hospital and was driven there in a second ambulance. Her father said doctors worked on her from about 2 p.m. to 9 p.m., and she was pronounced dead at about 9:40 p.m. on November 1, 2026.

Her father said doctors told the family she died of rhabdomyolysis, which they called extremely rare. New York Road Runners did not confirm a cause, and no medical examiner finding had been made public as of November 3, 2026. Funeral and memorial arrangements had not been announced.

Rachel Apa grew up in Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, a borough in northern York County near Harrisburg. She was the daughter of Steve Apa, who played football at Lehigh University, and Michelle Apa, and she had two brothers, Dominic and Anthony. Her exact date and place of birth have not been made public; she was 24 when she died in November 2026.

She credited her paternal grandfather with shaping her love of sport. "He taught me to stay active, push my limits, and embrace challenges," she wrote in 2026. Her father said the two of them shared a simple mantra, "go," a nod to his own football days, and that she was a lifelong athlete who was "always on the go."

Apa attended Red Land High School in Lewisberry, where she lettered in field hockey and lacrosse and graduated in 2020. She then enrolled at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, majoring in Markets, Innovation and Design while playing Division I field hockey. Her academic honors included Academic All-Patriot League (2021-22), two selections to the NFHCA National Academic Squad and two places on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. In a July 2024 LinkedIn post she wrote that she had graduated magna cum laude in May 2024 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.

In 2026 she moved to Charleston, South Carolina, and began a Master of Business Administration program at Charleston Southern University while working full time remotely.

At Red Land High School Apa was a two time First Team Mid-Penn Keystone Division selection and a 2018 Second Team All-State pick, finishing with 37 goals and 13 assists in four seasons. She also played club field hockey for Central Penn Field Hockey.

At Bucknell she played forward for four seasons. In 2020-21 she led the team with seven points, scored twice in a 3-2 win over Lafayette to earn Patriot League Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week, scored in the shootout of a Patriot League semifinal win over American and assisted on the game winner against VCU in the NCAA first round. In 2021 she played all 18 games with 17 starts and scored four goals. In 2022 she was second on the team with five goals. As a senior in 2023 she started all 17 games, scored six goals (second on the team), scored the game winner against Miami (Ohio) and scored twice against American in the Patriot League semifinals. Her career totals were 63 games, 42 starts, 17 goals, six assists and 40 points.

After graduating she joined TE Connectivity as a product manager. Her father said it was the same manufacturing company where he and her grandfather had worked.

Apa was close to her family. Her mother traveled to New York to cheer her on at the marathon with two of Rachel's friends, while her father followed every mile on the tracking app and texted her throughout. No spouse, partner or children have been reported. In 2026 she had moved from Pennsylvania to Charleston, South Carolina, for graduate school.

Apa chose to run her first marathon for the Parkinson's Foundation because of her grandfather, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease later in life and died in 2022. "I watched as the disease slowly took away the freedom to move that he once loved so much," she wrote on her fundraising page. "Every mile and every donation brings us one step closer to a future without Parkinson's." On LinkedIn she wrote that choosing a foundation that meant something to her was important, and that the money would go toward critical research, better care and, she hoped, a cure.

Apa's death made her name known far beyond Pennsylvania. Major outlets in the United States and abroad covered her story, and her father's account of her mile by mile texts was widely shared. Medical explainers from ABC News, TODAY and others used her case to describe rhabdomyolysis, its warning signs (severe muscle pain, weakness and dark urine) and its rarity, encouraging runners to seek help quickly when symptoms appear.

She is remembered by Bucknell as a four year contributor to its field hockey program, by Red Land and Central Penn Field Hockey as one of their own, and by her family as a go-getter who did nothing halfway. Her fundraising page for the Parkinson's Foundation remains her own statement of why she ran.

Second Team All-State, Pennsylvania high school field hockey (2018). Two time First Team Mid-Penn Keystone Division (Red Land High School). Patriot League Player of the Week and Patriot League Rookie of the Week (2020-21 season). Academic All-Patriot League (2021-22). Two time NFHCA National Academic Squad. Two time Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. Magna cum laude graduate of Bucknell University (2024), by her own account.

News of her death was reported by The New York Times, the Associated Press, NBC News, ABC News, CBS New York, ABC7 New York, USA TODAY, the New York Post, TODAY, The Guardian, PennLive and FOX43, among others. Video reports from USA TODAY, CBS New York and ABC7 New York are included on this page.