# NYC marathon spectator told Rachel Apa ‘she wasn’t alone’ as she reveals runner’s heartbreaking final moments

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/nyc-marathon-spectator-told-rachel-apa-she-wasnt-alone-as-she-reveals-runners-heartbreaking-final-moments/
- Published: 2026-11-05T01:29:50+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-05T02:24:52+00:00
- Original publisher: New York Post (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://nypost.com/2026/11/04/us-news/nyc-marathon-spectator-told-rachel-apa-she-wasnt-alone-as-she-reveals-runners-heartbreaking-final-moments/
- Topics: World

## Key points

- Spectator comforted Rachel Apa after she collapsed during the marathon.
- Doctors and other runners tried to help her.
- Apa died hours later from rhabdomyolysis.

## Summary

Spectator Michaela Nicholas rushed to help 24-year-old Rachel Apa after she collapsed near mile 24 of the New York City Marathon. Nicholas held Apa’s hand and told her she was not alone as doctors began CPR; Apa later died, and the account highlights the swift response of people around her.

Nicholas, a hospital social worker, stayed until Apa was taken by ambulance and then contacted nearby hospitals with her parents’ details. Apa’s father said she died six hours after collapsing from rhabdomyolysis, a rare muscle condition. A former field hockey player, she had recently begun graduate study and was running to raise money for Parkinson’s disease research.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.