Wire reporting: (AP, via 6abc)

Rachel Apa, 24, of Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, collapsed near mile 24 of the TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday, Nov. 1, and later died, according to her family, New York Road Runners and police^1,2,3.

It was her first marathon, and she was raising money for Parkinson's disease research in honor of her grandfather^1,3.

New York Road Runners and police said Apa collapsed at mile marker 24 around 1:40 p.m., with sources placing the emergency near 90th Street along Fifth Avenue as the course entered Central Park; NYPD said she was approaching the 24-mile mark of the 26.2-mile race^2,3.

A bystander started CPR until race medical staff continued treatment and used a defibrillator, NYRR said, and paramedics took her to a hospital^2,3.

Witness Michaela Nicholas told ABC7 New York that she saw Apa fall a few yards after passing, that her fiancé called for a doctor, and that people in the crowd began CPR after finding no pulse¹.

Apa's family said she was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital and died Sunday night; her mother had been waiting near mile 25¹.

Stephen Apa told ABC7 New York that doctors said a rare muscle condition that can be triggered by exertion may have been involved¹.

ABC News Australia reported that her father identified the condition as rhabdomyolysis, in which muscle tissue can break down during hard effort⁴.

A medical examiner's finding has not been independently published in the accounts reviewed, so the official cause of death is not established on the public record^1,4.

NYRR said it was deeply saddened by Apa's death and offered condolences to her family and the running community².

Apa had played field hockey at Bucknell University and, according to USA Field Hockey, at Red Land High School and Central Penn Field Hockey Club².

The Associated Press, carried by 6abc, said a record 61,000 runners finished as the race marked 50 years in its five-borough format, and that donations to her Parkinson's Champions page passed a $4,000 goal after her death became public⁵.