See more of our coverage in your search results.
A longtime friend of the New York City Marathon runner who collapsed and died in the final stretch of the race remembered her former teammate as a “determined” and “passionate” athlete who believed she could achieve anything she set her mind to.
Rachel Apa, 24, passed away hours after falling at Mile 24 of the race in Central Park, succumbing to the rare muscular condition rhabdomyolysis.
A gifted former student-athlete who played D1 field hockey at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania, her friend Isabella Pavlides described how she was also a kind and loving friend — someone she looked up to like a big sister.
“I always admired Rachel’s work ethic and the way she approached pretty much everything, especially with field hockey,” Pavlides, a 23-year-old pre-med student from Voorhees, New Jersey, told The Post.
“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,” added Pavlides, who first met Apa at a hockey camp in 2018 before attending Bucknell together.
Pavlides described the fallen runner as “extremely passionate and fierce,” saying that “she always believed in herself.”
“She was always radiating confidence. If you could pick one person to get something done, it would be her. She always figured out a way, and she was one of the most determined people I know,” the grieving friend went on.
Pavlides said that as Apa was a year above her, she played a big part in her decision to go to Bucknell, a liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.
“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 said.
“I could not imagine my time at Bucknell without her,” she added, describing how the pair became roommates in her sophomore year, while both played forward for Bucknell’s field hockey team.
“We would hang out together outside of field hockey all the time and we were just very alike,” Pavlides added.
More coverage on the runner who died during the NYC Marathon
- NYC Marathon runner was lifelong athlete, ‘always on the go’ before dying from rhabdomyolysis
- NYC Marathon runner Rachel Apa told dad ‘I’ve never felt this good’ before collapsing in home stretch
- NYC Marathon runner died from rare condition that causes muscles to disintegrate and poison blood
- The sudden health complication you can develop from exercise — as healthy NYC marathoner, 24, dies following race
“Her determination always inspired me and anytime I was having maybe a rough time with field hockey, especially as a freshman, she always would speak life into me and like make me believe that I could do anything. And that’s how she carried herself,” she said.
Pavlides said her favorite memory with Apa was when the pair moved into campus housing together and spent their first night having a sleepover and making cookies.
They stayed friends after college, when Apa moved to South Carolina to start an MBA program at Charleston Southern University this year.
The last time Pavlides saw her friend was last December at Santa Con in New York — before Apa knew she was going to be running the marathon.
Apa wrote on her LinkedIn that she was running her first marathon to raise money to fight Parkinson’s disease, which had killed her grandfather.
She thanked her grandfather for teaching her to “stay active, push my limits, and embrace challenges,” she wrote.
Apa’s former college also paid tribute to her following her tragic death.
“Rachel was a four-year member and key contributor to the Bison field hockey team, scoring 17 goals during her collegiate career and earning Academic All-Patriot League honors,” a spokesperson for Bucknell University told The Post.
“The Bucknell community mourns her loss and extends its heartfelt condolences to all who knew and loved her,” the statement continued.
Charleston Southern University said Apa “trained for months for the event” and President B. Keith Faulkner remembered her as “vibrant young woman in the prime of her life.”
“We will never fully understand why this happened to a young woman of such remarkable strength and character,” Faulkner added. “Her final hours are forever marked by Rachel’s selfless dedication to helping others as she ran to raise funds in the fight against Parkinson’s disease.”
