Fireworks at the RunTown Distance Festival:PVL makes History
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What are we witnessing here in the State of Kentucky? Fresh off running 4:05.70 in the Mile and 8:56 in the 2 mile at Nike Indoor Nationals, Paul Van Laningham took his shot at the 5000m state record at the KYTrackXC.com 5k Showdown.
In 2013, at the KYTrackXC.com 5k Showdown, Jacob Thomson ran 14:49.75, A mark that has stood the test of time in this event and was the mark of true distance running excellence. In 2024, Riku Sugie ran 14:28.63 at Nike Outdoor Nationals which at the time was the fastest 5k run by a highschooler in KY State history. Finally, in 2025, Will Sheets of Covington Catholic ran 14:16.29 for the 5k Indoors at Nike Indoor Nationals which at the time was the fastest 5k run by a highschooler in KY State History. However, these aren't the same times and one runner is not like anyone the state has ever seen before.
At the 2026 KYTrackXC.com 5k Showdown, Paul Van Laningham assaulted the record books running 14:14.07, a mark that cements Paul as the fastest 5ker in KY State History. Making it more impressive, however, is that Paul won by more than 75 seconds lapping every other runner in the field. This coming off his incredible 15:01 KHSAA State Record during Cross Country starts making you wonder, is he the best High School runner to ever do it in our state? He's got a strong argument already and will be chasing Will Sheets's 1 mile and 2 mile State Records the rest of the year needing to run under 4:03.55 in the 1 mile and 8:48.39 in the 3200 to hold every State Record longer than 1600m (not including the 2k Steeple).