A stranger’s words of encouragement turned into a heartbreaking goodbye when a 24-year-old runner collapsed just moments after passing her during the New York City Marathon.
Michaela Nicholas had cheered on Rachel Apa over the weekend as she approached the final stretch.
Seconds later, the hospital social worker was holding the young woman’s hand as strangers fought to save her life.
“The parents will find some comfort knowing their daughter was not alone… I’m sure Rachel had comfort in those final moments,” wrote one emotional netizen.
Rachel Apa collapsed just over two miles from the NYC Marathon finish line during her first race over the weekend
Rachel Apa, a 24-year-old former Division I field hockey player at Bucknell University, was running her first New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 1, when tragedy struck near the 24-mile mark in Central Park.
She had spent months preparing for the 26.2-mile race and was participating in the Parkinson’s Champions team to honor her late grandfather, who had battled the disease.
Her family had been following her progress, with her mother waiting further along the course and her father tracking her through the marathon app from Pennsylvania.
Earlier in the race, Rachel had appeared upbeat.
Her mother even captured a video of her smiling and giving a high-five around mile 14.
However, she had begun reporting pain to her father through text messages as she continued running.
At mile 18, she sent him a brief “Ow,” followed by “Ow ow” a mile later.
She stopped responding to his messages as she approached the final stretch.
Near mile 24, Rachel suddenly collapsed, leaving spectators and fellow runners rushing to help.
A hospital social worker held Rachel’s hand and tried to comfort her in her final moments as strangers performed CPR
Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News via Getty Images
Bystanders began CPR before marathon medical personnel arrived and used a defibrillator.
She was then transported to Mount Sinai Medical Center, where doctors attempted to save her life for several hours.
According to her father, Steve Apa, doctors told the family that Rachel had passed away from rhabdomyolysis, a rare and potentially life-threatening condition involving the breakdown of muscle tissue.
Among the spectators watching the race was Michaela Nicholas, who had attended with her fiancée.
The couple had initially planned “to just stay for a short while. But then [we] got drawn in by the energy of New York City,” Nicholas recalled in an interview with the Daily Mail.
When Rachel passed them, she noticed her name on her race bib and called out, “Let’s go, Rachel! You got this!”
But moments later, she looked further up the road and saw the runner lying on the ground about 15 yards ahead.
Michaela pushed through the spectator barrier and rushed to her side, only to find that Rachel was unresponsive.
Her fiancée began calling for a doctor, while two bystanders stepped forward to perform CPR.
Nicholas, who works as a pediatric palliative care social worker, stayed beside Rachel and held her hand.
“I just wanted to make sure she wasn’t scared,” she recalled.
Rachel’s longtime friend remembers the determined athlete who always gave everything her heart to
Michaela also prayed and rubbed the cross on Rachel’s bracelet as the emergency unfolded.
“I work in palliative care, and I unfortunately have seen a lot of people at the end of life,” she said. “And I knew it was serious.”
She remained with Rachel until marathon medical personnel arrived and the runner was placed in an ambulance.
Nicholas later said, “I just thought about what else I could do. I found her parents’ names and phone numbers, and I called Lenox Hill and Mount Sinai, the two closest hospitals to where the incident happened, and just asked that they write down her parents’ phone numbers in case they hadn’t already been able to contact [them].”
“I was debating reaching out to her family or not. And my gut was just telling me that I wanted to relay that people were with Rachel and that she wasn’t alone… that I was there holding her hand and speaking to her even if she couldn’t hear me…”
As news of Rachel’s passing spread, the social worker told the outlet, “It’s so devastating that Rachel passed away… I’m just so heartbroken for Rachel’s family… I let them know that I’m here and here to support however I can.”
Speaking to the New York Post, her longtime friend and former Bucknell field hockey teammate Isabella Pavlides also shared her heartbreaking tribute to Rachel, whom she described as “fiercely competitive, confident, and determined” to accomplish whatever she set her mind to.
“I always admired Rachel’s work ethic and the way she approached pretty much everything, especially with field hockey,” Pavlides told the publication.
“She was so competitive, and when she had her mind set on something, and she wanted something, she put her whole heart into it and truly believed that she could get it done.”
The two first met at a hockey camp in 2018 before attending Bucknell together.
Their friendship grew throughout college, where they eventually became roommates and played forward for the university’s field hockey team.
The 24-year-old runner’s family and former university pay tribute in heartbreaking statements
“From the moment I stepped on campus as a freshman, she essentially took me under her wing and became like my best friend and my big sister,” Pavlides recalled.
The last time Pavlides saw her friend was in December 2025 at Santa Con in New York.
Rachel’s former university also remembered her contributions to its athletic community.
A Bucknell University spokesperson told the New York Post that she had been a four-year member of its Bison field hockey team, scoring 17 goals during her collegiate career and earning Academic All-Patriot League honors.
The university extended its condolences to everyone who knew and loved her, while her passing also prompted an outpouring of support for the Parkinson’s fundraising campaign she had been running in honor of her grandfather.
“This is so incredibly sad. I’ll be adding 2 miles to my next run to finish her race. RIP,” one netizen wrote
Follow Us
