Runner collapses near mile 24 of NYC Marathon, later dies of rhabdomyolysis

A 24-year-old runner died Sunday after collapsing near mile marker 24 in Central Park during the New York City Marathon. Emergency medical workers transported her to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition, where she was pronounced dead several hours later.

Her father, Steve Apa, said he exchanged text messages with his daughter throughout the race. The first message, sent at the nine-mile point, read, "Hey, go," followed by "I feel amazing," according to the family. Steve Apa responded with a cautionary reminder not to overdo it, noting it was her first marathon.

The family continued to exchange brief texts as the race progressed, with the runner reporting discomfort at miles 18, 20, 21, 22, and 23. At mile 24, around 1:30 p.m., her location on the marathon tracking app stopped moving. Her mother and friends, who were waiting near mile 25, also observed the pause.

"All finish, not speed," Steve Apa texted at mile 23.

When his wife arrived at the 24-mile marker, she could not locate her daughter and was informed by an EMS worker that an ambulance had already taken the runner to the hospital.

New York Road Runners, the marathon’s organizing body, said a bystander performed CPR before medical staff arrived, and a defibrillator was subsequently used.

Doctors identified rhabdomyolysis as the cause of death, describing it as a rare condition in which severe muscle breakdown releases toxic substances into the bloodstream and kidneys. The runner, a former Division I field hockey player at Bucknell University, had recently moved to Charleston, South Carolina, to pursue an MBA while working remotely.

She was running the race in support of the Parkinson’s Foundation, honoring her grandfather, who had the disease. Her family remains in Pennsylvania, coping with the loss.