UsedToBeFast wrote: Outside of this forum and serious running circles it is alarming how few people even know who Shalane Flanagan and Galen Rupp are...
are you able to explain why that is "alarming" ?
outside of running, I could probably name two professional boxers, three or four tennis players and maybe a half dozen soccer players, but absolutely zero squash, snooker, basketball, baseball or poker players. I'm sure they are not alarmed by this. I'm sure they find it pretty normal for large numbers of people to have no idea who they are.
I read an article yesterday about a cat-litter scientist turning up to Charles Barkley's mother's funeral, and even after reading the article I had to go to Wikipedia to figure out who Charles Barkley is and why I should have heard of him.
there are millions of people who think every day about stuff you have never once considered. ever heard of Hailey Gruber? she's a 16-year-old American girl who finished 6th in the World Ploughing Championships.
the world is not just a lot weirder than you imagine, it is a lot weirder than you can imagine.
oh, and there are also lots of companies that sponsor athletes you have never heard of; my local butcher sponsors a boxing team.