Rachel Apa died Sunday before she could cross the finish line during her first marathon.
uncertain
she → die → marathon
The 24-year-old woman experienced a medical episode near mile marker 24 in Central Park during the New York City Marathon on Sunday afternoon, her father confirmed to NBC News.
asserted
father → experience → News
The New York Police Department said that emergency medical workers took the woman to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition, where she died hours later.
asserted
she → say → condition
Her father, Steve Apa, called the situation “unfathomable.”
asserted
father → call → situation
Steve said his wife, Michelle, and two of his daughter’s friends spent Sunday traversing the five boroughs to follow Rachel, a former Division I field hockey player, as she ran her first marathon.
asserted
she → say → marathon
He opted to follow along on the app from home in Lewisberry, Pennsylvania.
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He → opt → Lewisberry
He said he spoke to Rachel before she started running and said she was “so excited about it.”
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she → say → it
During the race, they stayed in touch by exchanging short text messages.
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they → stay → messages
The first text came around 11:30 a.m., when Rachel was at the 9-mile mark.
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Rachel → come → mark
“Hey, go,” she wrote, referring to a mantra the pair have shared for years and a nod to Steve’s days playing football at Lehigh University.
asserted
pair → go → University
“I feel amazing,” she then wrote, chalking it up to her pre-race carb-loading, according to her dad.
uncertain
she → feel → dad
“I’ve never felt this good.”
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I → feel → ?
Her dad responded with caution: “Great, don’t overdo it.
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dad → respond → it
He added that she’d be seeing her mom on the left side of the track in two blocks.
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she → add → blocks
Steve said his wife saw their daughter fly by at the 14th mile before Rachel texted him, “Ugh,” a few miles later.
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Rachel → say → him
“You beat the 18,” he responded.
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he → beat → 18
“Ow, ow,” Rachel said, spurring Steve to remind her to “go easy.”
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Rachel → say → her
At mile 20, Steve said he texted again.
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he → say → mile
She responded with another “Ow, ow.”
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She → respond → ow
He kept texting at mile 21, mile 22 and mile 23.
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He → keep → mile
At mile 23, Steve said: “All finish, not speed.”
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Steve → say → mile
Steve texted one more time at mile 24, around 1:30 p.m., before noticing that Rachel’s location on the marathon tracking app had stopped moving.
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location → texte → app
At that point, Steve said his wife and Rachel’s friends were waiting for her at mile 25 and also noticed her location had stopped moving.
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location → say → mile
His wife then called him, and he told her to find their daughter.
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he → call → daughter
He said he then texted his daughter to tell her that her mom was walking toward her.
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mom → say → her
She never replied.
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She → reply → ?
Steve said his wife arrived near the mile 24 marker and started yelling Rachel’s name when she couldn’t find her.
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she → say → her
An EMS worker still on scene told Michelle that an ambulance had just taken her daughter to the hospital, and the worker drove Michelle to Mount Sinai in a second ambulance, he said.
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he → tell → ambulance
Meanwhile, Steve started driving to New York.
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Steve → start → York
New York Road Runners, which organizes the marathon, said in a statement that a bystander administered CPR before the marathon’s medical staff could.
uncertain
staff → organize → CPR
The organization said the medical staff then used a defibrillator on Rachel.
asserted
staff → say → Rachel
The doctors told the Apas that their daughter died of rhabdomyolysis, calling the diagnosis “extremely rare.”
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daughter → tell → diagnosis
The Cleveland Clinic describes rhabdomyolysis as a serious condition that causes muscles to break down due to overexertion, allowing “toxic components of your muscle fibers” to enter the bloodstream and kidneys.
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components → describe → bloodstream
Rachel was a lifelong athlete, her dad said.
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dad → say → ?
She played field hockey at Bucknell University and exercised regularly as part of her postgrad routine.
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She → play → routine
She recently moved to Charleston, South Carolina, to pursue an MBA while working a full-time remote job.
asserted
She → move → job
“She was always on the go, always go, and it doesn’t matter if it’s school or sports or whatever it is.
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it → go → go
She was go
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She → go → ?
,” Steve said.
asserted
Steve → say → ?
Rachel ran the race with the Parkinson’s Foundation in honor of her grandfather, who died of the disease, she said in a post on LinkedIn.
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she → run → LinkedIn
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
