I haven't read much about Nerurker over the years, but he strikes me as a substantial person who has gone his own way in life.
I remember when Gompers set the world junior marathon record as a 19-year-old freshman at Harvard (2:15:28 at the 1983 Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville, Alabama). I believe that his performance remains the U.S. junior marathon record over thirty-five years later. In 1988, he was among the favorites to make the U.S. Olympic team, and he pushed the pace for much of the way in the Olympic trials race, but he faded toward the end, and was caught and passed by Pete Pfitzinger for the third and final spot on the team. I believe he arrived at Oxford shortly thereafter. He continued to run pretty well for quite a while, but didn't really return to his earlier levels. As you say, he had other priorities by then. I think it's noteworthy that his Wikipedia entry doesn't even mention his running career.