Runner, 24, dies after collapsing near Mile 24 of the NYC Marathon

A 24-year-old woman running her first marathon died after collapsing in Central Park during Sunday's New York City Marathon, about two miles from the finish line, race organizers and police said.

The NYPD said the runner had a medical episode near Mile 24, in the stretch of the course that runs through Central Park, and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition, NBC New York reported. She was pronounced dead several hours later. The New York Times identified her as Rachel Apa, from Lewisberry, Pennsylvania.

What race organizers said

New York Road Runners, which organizes the race, said a bystander began CPR before the marathon's medical staff took over, continued CPR and used an automated external defibrillator, ABC7 reported. EMS then took her to Mount Sinai, where efforts to save her continued.

In a statement early Tuesday, NYRR said it was "deeply saddened" by her death and that its "thoughts and sincere sympathies" were with her family, friends and the running community, according to NBC New York.

Who she was

• Apa played Division I field hockey at Bucknell University, had recently moved to Charleston, South Carolina, to study for an MBA while working full time, and exercised regularly, her father, Steve Apa, told NBC News.
• She was running for the Parkinson's Foundation in memory of her paternal grandfather, who had the disease, USA Today reported. Her fundraising page called him her "role model growing up," according to NBC New York.
• Her mother and two friends followed her across the five boroughs while her father tracked her on the race app from home and exchanged texts with her, he told NBC News.

What her family says happened

Steve Apa told NBC News that his daughter texted him early in the race that she felt "amazing," then wrote "Ow" several times in the later miles as he urged her to go easy. He noticed her location on the tracking app had stopped moving at Mile 24, around 1:30 p.m. Her mother, who was waiting near Mile 25, went looking for her and was told by an EMS worker that she had already been taken to the hospital.

Her father said doctors told the family she died of rhabdomyolysis, which they called extremely rare, NBC News and USA Today reported. The Cleveland Clinic describes it as a serious condition in which muscle breaks down, often from overexertion, and releases harmful components into the bloodstream that can damage the kidneys, according to NBC News.

This year's race was the 50th New York City Marathon, NBC New York noted. Our race-day guide has the course details.