I don't know why it took me so long, but this thread finally made me realize something: the majority of competitive runners have no real interest in promoting their sport. Lauren is a wickedly clever writer, a very good runner, and, from what I can tell, an all around interesting person. She has run on the professional circuit for god's sake, so she absolutely has produced on the track. Since when is winning national titles requisite for being one if our sports ambassadors? I'd say being in the top one percent should suffice. Otherwise, what do we have? Any given high profile race with 2-3 personalities and 15 random, nameless bodies. That doesn't make for an exciting spectator event. Lauren is the perfect candidate for a second tier professional runner in the spotlight. Winning is important, but spectators can invest interest in the other racers in an event, too. Not to mention we need these types of personalities. The top of the top can frankly be pretty boring (prob why they're so good). Heck, we even need Fam. Despite his antics, his run like hell campaign was tenacious and fantastic. Get it together, folks. Or, I guess, go on being whiny and pretentious, all the while complaining about our sports lack of exposure.