Don Lash

At the 1936 Princeton Invitational, Don Lash ran 2 miles in 8:58.4 to break the world record held by the renowned Paavo Nurmi. Lash ran for Indiana University and the Indiana State Police AA. He won multiple AAU titles, including the 5K in 1936 and the 10K in 1936 and 1940. Most impressively, he was AAU cross-country champion for seven consecutive years – 1934-40. In 1938 he was the winner of the Sullivan Award as America’s top amateur athlete. Lash had an interesting post-athletic career. In 1941 he became an FBI agent, which he did until he retired from the Bureau in 1962. He then became regional director of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and spent time as a motivational speaker. He had a brief stint selling real estate, but in the 1970s was elected to the Indiana state legislature and served five terms in politics.

Personal Bests: 1500 – 3:57.8 (1936); Mile – 4:07.2 (1937); 2 miles – 8:58.0i (1937); 5000 – 14:30.9i (1939); 10000 – 31:06.9 (1936).