Family honours NYC Marathon runner Rachel Apa after her death
The 24-year-old athlete died from rhabdomyolysis after collapsing at Mile 24 of the race in Central Park.
The family of Rachel Apa has released a tribute to the 24-year-old runner who died on November 1 after collapsing during the NYC Marathon. According to the New York Post, Apa died hours after falling at Mile 24 in Central Park from rhabdomyolysis, a rare muscular condition.
Apa, who was from Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, had recently moved to Charleston, South Carolina. She worked as a product manager at TE Connectivity and was pursuing an MBA at Charleston Southern University.
A former field hockey player at Bucknell University, Apa was running her first marathon to raise money for Parkinson’s disease research in memory of her grandfather. Her family described her as a strong-willed person who always found her way to the finish line.
The family has established the Rachel Apa Foundation to raise awareness regarding the condition that caused her death. A GoFundMe for the foundation, which is currently incorporating as a nonprofit, has raised more than $118,000.