Lauren Fleshman Taking 2013 off

Where do you guys come up with this stuff? Maybe a small percentage of the public besides runners know who KG, but I surmise only a small percentage of the running crowd are even aware of who you are discussing here.

Angry, Off-Topic and Plastered wrote:

Before the Internet existed, I never would have believed it possible that someone like her would be the subject of scathing criticism that anyone would take remotely seriously. But now I know better.

So...thanks?

This thread reads like something you'd expect to see at People Magazine or TMZ. This WORLD FAMOUS MESSAGE BOARD is overrun with a bunch of gossipy yentas and hens.

Which is why she would be great for Runner's World. She needn't get to any certain level of fame before getting such a job. It's like when you see an NFL player get interviewed after a game and they come across as well as any on air talent. And you think 'That person would be a good broadcaster'.

She's a runner with credentials and could easily be,,well, not a broadcaster because that's not much of a thing for this sport but yeah someone like a Bart Yasso.

Who is KG?

Apart from that, I am amazed/appalled at the negative harping on Lauren. She's been a great runner, an entrepreneur, a role model for girl runners . . . . the level of morose griping/nit-picking about national runners on these forums is mind boggling.

She was 7th in he World championships 5000 final. That doesn't suck.

She's the most personable of all the elite female distance runners.

She'll do fine, whatever she decides to do.

Pics??

Seriously. Between choosing to leave Nike and making a book and feature about herself -cause she is just SO fascinating - I was left shaking my head...

Wow Unbelievable wrote:

She was 7th in he World championships 5000 final. That doesn't suck.

She's the most personable of all the elite female distance runners.

She'll do fine, whatever she decides to do.

Yeah this. She's my favorite female distance runner in the US by far because she has so much freaking personality. She's been considering this for a while:

And honestly it makes a lot of sense. It really sucks that it conflicts with her running but that's life and she has thought a lot about the decision. I think if she wants to make a comeback, she will. If she doesn't want to, then so be it.

The girl can write, that's for sure. Her blogs are much better than any other runner out there.

I have a lot of respect for her, she's accomplished a lot in running (and let's assume for her talent level). She is an entrepreneur and I respect that so much. So many pro runners aren't thinking at all about what they'll do next and convinced themselves that they have to do this 100%. I think this is hooey because they have so much down time and they aren't using it in their prime years. She has stepped up and I would hire her over any medalist if she came knocking on the door for a job.

Good luck to her!! I want her to get preg so she can blog about it and we can get some idea about how an elite runner runs while pregnant. Not much info out there!

I love her!!!

huh??? wrote:

Who is KG?

Apart from that, I am amazed/appalled at the negative harping on Lauren. She's been a great runner, an entrepreneur, a role model for girl runners . . . . the level of morose griping/nit-picking about national runners on these forums is mind boggling.

Somewhere along the line the somewhat useful cynicism of this site(Nike probably dropped her and not the other way around) turned into outright hostility(she's never going to run again and she sucked anyway).

I think it's because of the nature of this sport. Most track fans are runners themselves and a lot of them do it very seriously. It's not like football where a fan might throw a pigskin every now and then but aside from that they just watch. Because of that I think there's a great deal of bitterness from people who look at their 70 mile weeks and wonder why they couldn't be the ones getting paid to run. Any pro who doesn't humbly bow their head in thanks for the gift they've been given is seen as whiny and undeserving. "If I only had half her talent, imagine what I could do." If you've ever felt this way then you need to take a step back and get some perspective.

Looks like she is already pregnant- that will jumpstart her plans and possibly get her back in time for the next Olympic cycle!

Does she need any help?

Seriously, she's a good runner, entrepreneurial, and knows how to market herself. She and people like Nick Symmonds are models for what runners need to be doing to broaden the appeal of running.

Koneko wrote:

Massively over-rated athlete.

Queen of the humble-brag.

Her blog is full of "witty" "folksy" introspective garbage that white people seem to love for some reason. Her book will be horrid.

Zero international medals.

She's simply not as important as she thinks she is.

Time to retire.

All of this. I feel as though she has grown ever more self-important in recent years, and the whole thing has grown tiresome.

Wish her the best with her pregnancy, but her supposedly refreshing, unvarnished and candid approach end up muddling the message, and the following fumble regarding her pregnancy is not excusable for a Stanford grad that uses her blog as a professional platform:

'Take a ce la vis (half assed) approach, if you will...'

C'est la vie, ma chere.

Just read her blog, she is as talented a writer as she is a runner

Are you saying that she is a top 10 writer in the world when you say she is just as talented with the pen?

Umm... I personally have no ill will towards her at all, but she's discussing it for one reason, to promote her picky bars and keep her name out there which in marketing go hand in hand.

Are you seriously that dumb to not understand that? Wow, there are some people that have very little to no basic intelligence on this board. How embarrassing it must be for you.

The bars aren't science, it's basic nutrition and she's pretty much making another "version" of the power bar among others that are already out there (no I never said the exact same bar).

The difference is she can market them easier with her position in running and that's not rocket science at all. If you boneheads don't think that her sudden blog, asklaurenfleshman was just a coincidence, then I've got dozens of islands to sell you in the Caribbean!!!!!!!!!

They did NOT start making and selling these overnight. The blog is part of the marketing and anyone in marketing and a little common sense knows what I'm saying. Get followers and then BINGO, you just happen to have a product and a certain percentage of people will buy because you are so great and took the time to answer their beginning runner questions. These bars were in the making for awhile, trust me.

I may be wrong, but I swear I read where she was asked to remove her self-promotion advertisement last year before the NYC Marathon and I recall one of the brothers writing about it on the home page.

I agree but respectfully I think you meant to say no coincidence. Also I'm in marketing in Ann Arbor and you are spot on, this is marketing in the 21st century, using a blog/website to eventually sell a product but to not start it out that way. I see it the same way. She's a capitalistic person who is going for the gold, but not on the track and she's got no chance there.