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NYC Marathon runner Rachel Apa sent heartbreaking final text before dying on race day

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Cite

Zini, C. (2026, November 3). NYC Marathon runner Rachel Apa sent heartbreaking final text before dying on race day. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/11/03/us-news/nyc-marathon-runner-rachel-apa-sent-heartbreaking-final-text-before-dying-on-race-day/

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-11-03 · by Catherine Zini

Quick Summary

Rachel Apa, a 24-year-old first-time marathon runner, collapsed and later died during the New York City Marathon on Sunday after sending distressing text messages to her father complaining of pain. The texts exchanged between Rachel and her father, Steve Apa in Pennsylvania, showed increasing discomfort as she approached the final miles of the race. She was pronounced dead from rhabdomyolysis, a condition where muscle tissue breaks down rapidly, at approximately 24 miles into the marathon.
Written by AI on 2026-11-03, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Rachel Apa, a 24-year-old runner from Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, died on Sunday after collapsing about two miles short of the finish line during the New York City Marathon. She had been running her first marathon as part of the Parkinson’s Champions team to honor her late grandfather who battled Parkinson's disease before his death in 2022. Apa was training for months and was described by her father, Steve Apa, as being in "perfect health" and "perfect shape." According to her father, Rachel texted him from mile 19 saying “Ow ow” and collapsed at mile 24. A bystander administered CPR, and event medical staff also performed CPR and used a defibrillator but were unable to revive her. Her death is attributed to rhabdomyolysis, a rare condition linked to intense physical exercise where muscle cells break down and release toxic components into the bloodstream.

Written for “NYC Marathon Runner Dies from Rhabdomyolysis” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 15 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 NYC Marathon Runner Dies from Rhabdomyolysis
Health · 16 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 14% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Father shares final texts from 24-year-old runner who collapsed during NYC marathon Same event
NBC News
Hedges 3 of 45 claims Outlet record 78/100
Woman, 24, dies in NY marathon as father reveals she had rare condition Same event
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 2 of 28 claims Outlet record 67/100
24-year-old dies after collapsing during her first New York City Marathon Same event
The Independent
Hedges 4 of 20 claims Outlet record 59/100
'Ow, ow': NYC runner Rachel Apa sends text to father from marathon, collapses and dies Same event
Times of India
Hedges 0 of 19 claims Outlet record 59/100
24-year-old woman dies after collapsing in final stages of New York City Marathon Same event
The Guardian
Hedges 0 of 16 claims Outlet record 66/100
NYC Marathon runner Rachel Apa dies after collapsing in Central Park two miles from finish line Same event
New York Post
Hedges 2 of 16 claims Outlet record 66/100
A woman running the NYC marathon for charity dies 2 miles from the finish Same event
Toronto Star
Hedges 2 of 26 claims Outlet record 64/100
Young NYC Marathon runner collapses and dies two miles from finish line Same event
BBC News
Hedges 3 of 20 claims Outlet record 68/100
A woman running the NYC marathon for charity dies 2 miles from the finish Same event
The Independent
Hedges 2 of 28 claims Outlet record 59/100
NYC Marathon runner Rachel Apa died from rare rhabdomyolysis, which causes muscles to disintegrate and poison the blood Same event
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 4 claims Outlet record 66/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
7
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
14%
1 of 7 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
16
Health
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-03 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Running correction rate · 36 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Catherine Zini
2 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
🔮 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed Mayor Zohran Mamdani and vowed he’d “tell the truth” about the mayor when he’s in town to address the UN General Assembly later this week.
2026-09-22 · assertive framing · Netanyahu threatens to expose Mamdani at UN in feisty video message: ‘I’m going to tell the truth about you’
Also by Catherine Zini
Netanyahu threatens to expose Mamdani at UN in feisty video message: ‘I’m going to tell the truth about you’
2026-09-22 · New York Post
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

New York City Pennsylvania the New York Times

Subjects

Apa PERSON · 2× Steve Apa PERSON · 2× New York City GPE · 1× Pennsylvania GPE · 1× Rachel Apa PERSON · 1× the New York Times ORG · 1×

Narrative

“Ow,” the 24-year-old runner messaged her dad, Steve Apa, when she made it to the 18th mile point of the marathon – roughly two-thirds into the 26.2-mile race, the New York Times first reported.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-03
2026-11-03 · New York Post
NYC Marathon runner Rachel Apa sent heartbreaking final text before dying on race day · assertive framing

Claims (7 extracted, 1 hedged)

The New York City marathon runner who died after collapsing just two miles from the finish line sent a string of heartbreaking texts to her dad during Sunday’s race. asserted
who → die → race
Rachel Apa, who reportedly died from the muscle breakdown condition rhabdomyolysis, was said to be in “perfect health” as she embarked on what was her first marathon Sunday before seemingly complaining of pain. uncertain
what → die → pain
“Ow,” the 24-year-old runner messaged her dad, Steve Apa, when she made it to the 18th mile point of the marathon – roughly two-thirds into the 26.2-mile race, the New York Times first reported. asserted
Times → message → race
“Ow, Ow,” Apa messaged after completing another mile. asserted
Apa → message → mile
Steve Apa, who was tracking her progress using the marathon’s app from his Pennsylvania home, tried to encourage his daughter – messaging “Final stretch” when she was 23 miles in. asserted
she → track → stretch
Apa never replied to the message – before collapsing in Central Park at the 24 mile point. asserted
Apa → reply → point
She was pronounced dead late Sunday – with her dad telling the outlet she died from rhabdomyolysis, a medical condition which sees the muscles break down rapidly. asserted
muscles → pronounce → rhabdomyolysis
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