“She Always Found Her Way To The Finish Line”: 2.2 Miles For Rachel Apa Today

00:00:11
Speaker 1: Hey there, folks.

00:00:12
Speaker 2: It is Sunday, November 8th, and Robike and I just finished running a marathon. But it wasn't our race to run. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. We just completed, Robes, I should say, a marathon on behalf of a young lady who couldn't finish the New York City Marathon herself. And Robes, Is there anyone we have talked about more in the past week than Rachel Appel? Not just on podcast, not just in public, but we have been talking about this young lady a lot the past week.

00:00:50
Speaker 3: Yeah, been talking about it with each other, with our other friends who are runners, our daughters, our parents. Yes, this is something that hits home because, yes, it's about a parent imagining losing your child, but as a runner... thinking that you're reaching new heights and pushing your body to do great things and to have that fear of what could happen and just how far is too far. There are so many reasons why Rachel Apa's story touches so many people.

00:01:20
Speaker 2: And so many people today will be doing what we did do, and we encourage you to do it as well. I thought this was a sweet idea. Robes, young lady, Rachel, and many people have heard this story by now, but she collapsed. But just over two miles to go in the New York City Marathon a week ago today. And her college and her high school have put together memorials today and allowing people to finish her marathon for her.

00:01:49
Speaker 3: That is so beautiful. It makes me so emotional thinking about it. And when you I didn't know about this, you brought it up to me and I thought, wow, what a perfect way to honor her memory, her legacy. a week after she collapsed to finish the marathon for her. So yes, running those 2.2 miles today, a beautiful, chilly November morning here in New York City, I was thinking of her. I was thinking of how grateful I was just to be here, to be able to run. And that all makes for a pretty incredible 2.2 miles.

00:02:26
Speaker 2: We were looking for, I told you, Robes, we often look for the bright side, the upside, lessons that can be learned and Day in, day out tragedies often that we cover.

00:02:37
Speaker 1: I couldn't find one on this one at all. She's young. She's in shape. She's got her whole life ahead of her. Beautiful. You name it, Robes.

00:02:47
Speaker 2: And the only glimpse of her life that I really got, Robes, was what mile was that?

00:02:53
Speaker 1: 14?

00:02:53
Speaker 3: 14. That video.

00:02:56
Speaker 2: That's how I know her, which is a runner at mile 14 who was looking... better than I was at mile 14. Smiling, gave quick high five. This is her first marathon robes, and she gets it because she didn't slow down that long to hang out and give kisses and hugs. She looked like a woman who was concerned about her time.

00:03:16
Speaker 1: She looked focused.

00:03:17
Speaker 3: And she looked happy. She looked joyful. That's that runner's high. And I was going back and reading because her father... laid out all the texts he was receiving from her. And just to see their relationship is so sweet. He also was a college athlete, so he was kind of coaching her from back home on text. And I've had that same relationship with my dad, who's also a marathoner, who knows what it's like to pace yourself. So here was dad telling his daughter, it's not about the time, it's about finishing. He was telling her to go easy on herself. Just to see the in real time, how good she was feeling. At one point, she even told him, I feel amazing. I've never felt this good. He writes back, great. Don't overdo it. First marathon. This is a learning run. Just that sweet back and forth between father and daughter.

00:04:05
Speaker 2: This is a young lady by all accounts. Look, she's been an athlete her whole life. She played division one field hockey. She knows her body. She knows what it takes to push. She knows what it takes to compete. She She doesn't seem, right, Rose, we don't know her history, but she doesn't seem like the type who is out of touch with what it takes to achieve great athletic accomplishments. She doesn't seem like a young lady, given her dad as well. Doesn't seem like this is a young lady.

00:04:32
Speaker 1: Look, I get it.

00:04:32
Speaker 2: I'm pushing yourself. No indication that anything irresponsible was going on.

00:04:37
Speaker 3: No.

00:04:37
Speaker 1: She did everything she was supposed to do.

00:04:39
Speaker 3: Yes. And she seemed happy. And the only indication was starting, I believe, at like mile 18, 19, where she said, ow. And then she said, ow, ow. And that was it. There was no specifics. And look, when you're running a marathon, you know this. I know this. You're not taking time to text and complete sentences. You're just trying to get across to whoever wants to know how you're doing a general idea. And so just to get ow, it's... Not alarming. No. No. just like, oh, this is painful. Yeah, you're in the final stretch and ain't nobody get through those 6.2 miles after mile 20 feeling good or very few people don't experience pain. So it wouldn't seem out of the ordinary.

00:05:20
Speaker 2: So she collapses. Her mom was out there waiting for mile 25, I believe. Daughter didn't show up. So she goes back to the last place they saw.

00:05:29
Speaker 1: I guess that dot moving, you can track your runner. Go back.

00:05:33
Speaker 2: She was already on the way to the hospital. Mom goes and a separate ambulance to the hospital. And Rachel is pronounced dead at 9.40 p.m. They did work on her robes for quite a while to try to save this young lady. We do find out later from her family this condition that I wasn't familiar with. Rabdo is the short word for it. Do you have it there in front of you? You were pronouncing it better than I was.

00:05:54
Speaker 3: Oh, yes. Let me see if I can look at it and be able to say it.

00:05:57
Speaker 1: Rabdomyolysis.

00:05:58
Speaker 3: Rabdomyolysis. Rabdomyolysis. Myolysis.

00:06:01
Speaker 1: Myolysis.

00:06:03
Speaker 2: So this is a condition that we found out later and we want to talk about it more here in a second, but the family is wanting to make sure other athletes, coaches, parents, friends are aware of this and can identify it. But Rose, we get word that that is the thing, this rare condition of muscle breakdown ends up poisoning her own body. And that is what killed her. Now they are today. We just mentioned ropes, her high school, red line high school in Lewisbury.

00:06:31
Speaker 3: Um, Pennsylvania.

00:06:32
Speaker 2: Pennsylvania, and then Bucknell. They're both doing these walks for 2.2 miles finish. And I finished her race, and I thought it was cool as well. They're asking everybody to wear green.

00:06:42
Speaker 3: Because she was wearing lime green.

00:06:44
Speaker 1: It stood out. I mean, she looked the part, baby.

00:06:47
Speaker 3: She looked adorable. I mean, we said that she looked like a model, like a Nike model, like a Nike ad. I think she had a Nike sports bra on, matching shorts. Look, your running fit is huge.

00:06:57
Speaker 1: We always.

00:06:58
Speaker 3: I don't know if you did it this year, but usually we go and we try to buy something new because you want to feel good when you're pushing yourself like that. So yeah, she clearly had a brand new running fit on that she picked out for the marathon. She looked gorgeous, fit, athletic, amazing in that lime green. So yes, they're asking people to wear green. And I love this. Bucknell's doing it 11 a.m. Eastern time. Redland High School is doing it at 1.30 p.m. You can run, you can walk. But you finished the marathon for Rachel.

00:07:28
Speaker 1: I love it.

00:07:29
Speaker 2: And 1.30 was around the time that she did collapse on the course there on Sunday. So Robes and I are still sitting here in our wet running gear. We literally just came back in from doing this run. It was about 50 degrees outside this morning. But it feels good. And it did feel good. My foot still hurts from the run, folks, where I had this injury today.

00:07:51
Speaker 1: Who cares? It really was. That was the moment I was like, ugh, ugh. And then I stopped and gone, ugh. Okay. You do, Robes. You just appreciate being able to be out there.

00:08:01
Speaker 2: I said I was having a hard time finding a positive in this story and maybe finally got one from her obituary. We are going to share this. This is from the funeral home that posted this. But obviously it was written in conjunction with her family and her friends put this together. But we learned more about her here, Robes. And I wanted to smile as best we could throughout this. This episode, but this has been a devastating week for runners, for this family, certainly the whole running community, and New York to a great degree. This city goes crazy supporting runners, and most of them, she ran by. She got to mile 24. That means everybody in this city who was out there does feel, because they were rooting for her, whether they saw her or not. They're all out there just cheering.

00:08:49
Speaker 1: For these runners. So this has impacted... folks all over.

00:08:54
Speaker 3: I thought it was cool. The New York giants. Did you see this? The head coach that he actually started his press conference this week, expressing thoughts and prayers to the family of Rachel Appa. And he said to her, um, I cannot, or to the family, I cannot imagine the pain they're going through. And yet also the pride they feel for a life well lived. When you read about her life, it's just incredible to read the type of person she was And she'll really dearly be missed. She's in God's hands now. And we want to let the family know that New York Giants are thinking about their daughter and their family.

00:09:25
Speaker 2: This we got from the official obituary. It reads, Rachel Sandra Apa set goals and met them without fail. With determination, discipline, and a heart fully committed to whatever she pursued, she always found her way to the finish line. On Sunday, November 1st, after running 24 miles at an incredible pace and with a grin that stretched ear to ear, the only thing strong enough to physically stop her body met Rachel on 85th Street. Her spirit was so powerful and full of vitality that not even her body could contain it. Rachel was strong with... naturally took charge, but alongside that strength was a tender, attentive heart. She always knew how to take care of her friends and family before they did. From that overflow of love, she remembered the details that made gifts meaningful and lifted people up because she knew what made each person special, her kindness and radiated through her thoughtful, beautiful eyes. Look, if folks haven't seen her, I mean, she's young, she's fit, she has this long brunette hair. She's adorable. She's just an adorable young woman. She's just young and just everything they describe here. Okay, I don't know her at all.

00:10:39
Speaker 3: It comes out in her pictures.

00:10:40
Speaker 2: A few pictures, just that it was a 12-second video of her running by at mile 14.

00:10:46
Speaker 1: You get it?

00:10:48
Speaker 3: Yes, and the tribute goes on to say one of her strongest passions was for animals. Whether it was her own pet or a wild animal in need, Rachel's instinct was to love, nurture, and protect God's creatures. Her dogs were her forever children. Cooking was one of her love languages, but don't get in her way. There was no room for nonsense. She created a cookie recipe so perfect it had to be thrown away for the sake of our health. At just 24, Rachel had already accomplished so much and given those who knew her countless reasons to be proud. She moved through the world with purpose, always setting high expectations for herself. Intelligent, charismatic, athletic, and beautiful, she used the gifts God gave her in everything she touched. She graduated from Redland High School in 2020 at the top of her class and excelled in field hockey, earning recognition among Max Field Hockey's top 50 players in the nation during her junior year. She continued her academic and athletic pursuits at Bucknell University, graduating magna cum laude while competing on the University Division I field hockey team. She was a hard charger in every sense, driven, disciplined, and always willing to put in the work. Sports were just one way she showed that spirit but her dedication touched every part of her life. Independent and looking to start a new chapter, Rachel had recently moved to Charleston, South Carolina, where she worked as a product manager at TE Connectivity while pursuing her MBA at Charleston Southern University. Rachel brought something distinctly her own to every team, every challenge, and every relationship. While most of us are defined by our goals and achievements, it would be considerably more accurate to say that Rachel defined everything she did. Her drive came from many places, but her family and her faith were always at the center.

00:12:36
Speaker 1: Okay, but stay here, folks.

00:12:37
Speaker 2: The last two paragraphs of the obituary are where we get into the part where I say, Robes, maybe, maybe, maybe we have found some silver lining and we found a positive out of what has been just a devastating story.

00:12:51
Speaker 1: Also, stay here.

00:12:52
Speaker 2: We'll tell you what the family wants people to hear, to know, and how they want you to remember her legacy.

00:13:11
Speaker 3: Welcome back everyone to Amy and TJ. It was exactly one week ago today that Rachel Appa actually was running as we record this. She was about to begin the New York city marathon, but at 1 30 PM at mile 24 on 85th street, Rachel Appa collapsed and later died at the hospital. And today, yes, many are finishing that race for her walking, running, completing those 2.2 miles. She would have needed to cross the finish line. But her family put out a beautiful, beautiful obituary today for us all to get to know Rachel Appel a little better and to take her spirit with us as we go about the rest of our lives.

00:13:57
Speaker 1: So I.

00:14:00
Speaker 2: Said from the beginning, Rob, she's 24, right? We have tragedies and lives well lived. We hear about an 87-year-old dying, doing what they love, surrounded by family, right?

00:14:11
Speaker 1: All those things.

00:14:12
Speaker 2: You can find some something, Robes, that makes you feel good sometimes in a passing. I couldn't find anything. She's 24. She's just starting her life. This is all ridiculous. She did everything she's supposed to. I cannot find a positive in the family. Reminded us here, Robes, that, quote, this is how they wrap up her obituary. Quote, some people walk this earth with the true essence of life within them. A brighter spark, a stronger will, a desire to reach out and take what they know is theirs, and a belief in themselves that triumphs over fear. Rachel was one of these people. May her life's journey inspire you and give you the courage to live truthfully and fully.

00:14:57
Speaker 1: Maybe that's it. Maybe that's it.

00:15:00
Speaker 2: We've been talking about this girl all week. We will be talking about this girl for the next year until we set foot at the New York City Marathon next year.

00:15:07
Speaker 1: We absolutely will.

00:15:08
Speaker 2: That's it what do you got that or if you can do anything maybe she had spite like look at this young lady look what she did out there look what she was trying to accomplish look what she has done throughout her life yes she's an inspiration this is a young lady i did not know at all but she's got me this running this morning Out in a bad foot, running on her behalf, making sure my Strava hits exactly 2.2. Yes.

00:15:35
Speaker 3: Anyone who's a runner knows that Strava, especially when you run with someone else, rarely syncs up correctly. And so mine was obviously not synced up with yours. So you finished, and you looked at me, and I'm like, I have to keep going. So you were laughing at me because you went to go.

00:15:49
Speaker 1: Running in circles.

00:15:49
Speaker 3: I literally ended up running in circles trying to get the last little bit so that my Strava said 2.2 miles. You actually came to see what was going on and you looked at me and you just started laughing because I wanted, I needed to get the 2.2 exactly on my Strava.

00:16:05
Speaker 2: Rachel's got us out there running around in circles.

00:16:07
Speaker 3: Yes. She got us.

00:16:08
Speaker 2: We smiled about that. I mean, I just, I want to have, I don't know how to get to a point where I think about this young lady and smile versus cry.

00:16:17
Speaker 3: Hmm.

00:16:18
Speaker 2: Might take a minute, but it's just we didn't know her at all. But, babe, my God, this is just 24. This is just awful.

00:16:25
Speaker 3: Well, I mean, like you said, I have already decided to run the New York City Marathon next year. So, yeah, we will be thinking of her. We will be carrying her with us. I think a lot of runners will, for sure. Her legacy will live on. Her family wrapped up the obituary. And, again, I want to reread that last line and then finish it up. May her life's journey inspire you and give you the courage to live truthfully and fully. Then the angel said, I am Gabriel. I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news. Luke 1, 19.

00:17:04
Speaker 1: We appreciate the family. They are faith-based. They mentioned it throughout. Oops.

00:17:10
Speaker 3: And.

00:17:12
Speaker 2: I don't know how to hold on to this one, babe. The family, what the family was going through, that mom and that dad.

00:17:20
Speaker 3: Unthinkable.

00:17:21
Speaker 1: Yeah, the mom was there, right?

00:17:25
Speaker 2: She was waiting for her daughter to show up and she didn't. And that's when she knew something was wrong. Never got to talk to her again.

00:17:30
Speaker 1: Never got to see her again.

00:17:31
Speaker 3: She probably thought, what if I was just at mile 23? Why did I set up? You try to strategically set up to see your runner more than once, which is exactly what I did trying to find you.

00:17:40
Speaker 1: And sometimes to be helpful for what they need strategically.

00:17:44
Speaker 3: I can imagine as a mom, you'd be like, what if I had just been there the mile before and I could have seen that something was wrong and I could have helped and all of those what ifs. It's just, it'll drive you crazy.

00:17:54
Speaker 1: And I'm thinking about the dad. I mean, I remember your dad.

00:17:58
Speaker 2: Yes.

00:17:59
Speaker 1: You remember when? He had to stop.

00:18:01
Speaker 3: Yeah.

00:18:01
Speaker 1: Your dad was texting like crazy. Your dad stopped. What's up? Are you okay?

00:18:06
Speaker 3: Then he starts texting you. We were actually talking about that on the phone yesterday. I was FaceTiming my parents and we were talking about Rachel and how he was worried about me. And he was like, oh my God, I remember it so well. Because yes, you start to panic. You start thinking worst case scenario. But I don't think you ever would imagine this. And this was just the worst possible scenario. worst possible ending ever.

00:18:29
Speaker 2: But he was feeling just because he was going back and forth. He was, he was with her every step of that race. He was paying attention to her.

00:18:38
Speaker 1: Um, but they are again, another positive here and they are ropes.

00:18:42
Speaker 2: They are focusing. They are trying to bring attention. I think we all need to be paying attention to this for every runner.

00:18:48
Speaker 3: Certainly.

00:18:48
Speaker 1: I didn't, I wasn't familiar with this.

00:18:50
Speaker 3: Never heard of this before. And so, yes, they have already set up the Rachel Appa foundation for, And here is how it reads. The Rachel Apa Foundation has been created to educate people about the little-known condition that doctors believe killed her, rhabdomyolysis, or rhabdo. We want to ensure athletes know about this danger, that no other family suffers a loss like this, and keep Rachel's memory alive forever. Beyond education, we hope to advocate for rapid on-course medical care at endurance races, and support athletes carrying Rachel's spirit across finish lines everywhere. Our family would love your help honoring her and building a lasting legacy that makes an impact. And so in lieu of flowers, please make a contribution to the Rachel Apa Foundation.

00:19:32
Speaker 1: I bet the roadrunners do. I bet they pay attention to this.

00:19:36
Speaker 2: I mean, I don't know what can help rapid on-course medical care at endurance races. This is so rare that this thing happens, but rope studies have been done about it, and it is rare.

00:19:48
Speaker 1: When eggs.

00:19:50
Speaker 2: Rhabdo is what they call it, you're putting your body through something that it's not used to doing. It's not used to making that step for four hours straight. It's not used to that type of exertion without having water but once every 30 minutes. It's not used to, and they even talk about in some cases ropes where Athletes have been punished by coaches for enduring. You get in trouble at practice, okay, you got to run 50 laps, kind of a thing. That type of thing they even focus on specifically in some of their research. That's a big no-no, and coaches shouldn't do that. And teaching them to recognize when something is wrong. But robes, it's hard to recognize because one of the surefire ways is your urine. If your urine, they say even the color of tea or coffee. or just coloration. That's one of the telltale signs of this thing.

00:20:43
Speaker 3: Because kidney damage is what ends up killing you, correct?

00:20:45
Speaker 2: Boom.

00:20:45
Speaker 3: So, yes. And this common signs and symptoms... unfortunately, are fairly common, especially in a marathon. And this is considered, I mean, they list when this type of thing happens and marathons is high on the list, but it's weak muscles, muscle stiffness, muscle pain, and yes, that change in your P color. But they say if you have muscle cramps, aches or pains that are more severe than expected, yes, that dark urine or feeling weak and tired. Unfortunately, when you're in a marathon, mile 20 something to 26, You feel cramps, aches, pain, weak, tired. All those things are present. It's just hard to know when it crosses a line of danger.

00:21:24
Speaker 2: But Robes, it always feels worse than I've ever felt before. When is it dangerous? Every 25th mile I've gotten to, I've felt something I've never felt before.

00:21:34
Speaker 3: Oh my God. When I'm mile 23 on, my head is down. I can't even look at people who are cheering me on. I actually tell myself, you're an idiot. Why do you do this to yourself? I'm never doing this again.

00:21:46
Speaker 1: Like, those were the thoughts. I don't go there.

00:21:49
Speaker 3: Oh, my God. The last marathon, all of those thoughts were in my head. I mean, I was puking as I was running.

00:21:57
Speaker 1: But to that point, you've puked before. Yes, I have. You felt, like, what is abnormal? I don't know. Would she know?

00:22:03
Speaker 2: But robes, they say it is beyond. You know it when it hits you. Robes, they say the stiffness... comes to a point that you can't even move your joints like this is not just muscle pain and then some folks rope they say you have some degree of this so many runners after a race they say like stage one of this it's there but most people and your body can flush it all out and can deal with it but your muscles are poisoning you to the point that your kidneys cannot clear it and.

00:22:31
Speaker 3: The way you reverse it in a severe situation is with IV fluids. So I don't know, look, you start to think, you know, that they had teams, the New York road runners immediately on her giving her CPR, they were doing defibrillator. And by the way, the woman who immediately raced over to her who had medical training said there was no pulse, but like if they could have gotten an IV in her immediately and started putting IV fluid, I don't know how quickly they were able to do it, but she was on her way to the hospital by the time her mom got to that mile. So it was a quick response.

00:23:00
Speaker 2: And a mom, if she's at 25, how long does it take the mom to walk to walk a mile almost?

00:23:05
Speaker 1: And with all the.

00:23:06
Speaker 3: Crowds, it could take a while. It's hard to maneuver on race day.

00:23:10
Speaker 2: So we don't know how long she was actually on the car. But Robes, it's something to pay attention to. She's making us all pay attention. And Robes, if it's not even rap, though, this should give us all a pause.

00:23:23
Speaker 1: Pause.

00:23:24
Speaker 2: To take this thing a little more seriously, even that we do take it. This marathon is just not what human beings are built to do. It is difficult and it is dangerous. So, Rachel, we will be out there in green, I'm sure, next year.

00:23:40
Speaker 3: Oh, my goodness. We are carrying her spirit with us across that finish line next year. There's no question. No question whatsoever. And with that, everyone, we hope that maybe you can walk, if not run. But we would encourage everybody, please get out there. It's a gorgeous day. Bundle up if you have to or enjoy the warm weather you may be having in your neck of the woods. But please, yeah, get out there and walk at least those 2.2 miles for Rachel today. We always appreciate you listening to us. I'm Amy Robach alongside TJ Holmes. We'll talk to you soon.