Associated Press

Nov 3, 2026, 02:04 PM ET

NEW YORK -- A young Pennsylvania woman running the New York City Marathon for the first time to raise money for charity collapsed in Central Park, just over 2 miles from the finish line, and later died. She was 24.

Rachel Apa of Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, was approaching the 24-mile mark of the 26.2 mile race Sunday when she collapsed, according to the New York Police Department.

Her father said she'd been stricken with rhabdomyolysis, a rare condition in which muscles can break down during exertion, poisoning the body. It was her first marathon, Steve Apa told The New York Times .

New York Road Runners, the nonprofit club that stages the race, said in a news release that CPR was administered to Apa by a bystander and later by event medical staff.…